The euro as a catalyst for global financial market deepening

Keynote address by Mr Malcolm D Knight, General Manager of the BIS, at the Brussels Economic Forum 2008 on Economic and Monetary Union in Europe: 10 Years On, Brussels, 15 May 2008.

Abstract

The process of European financial integration was given tremendous impetus by the launch of the euro at the beginning of 1999. One of the great successes of euro area monetary union over the past decade has been the development of deep and liquid European financial markets. This achievement, in turn, has supported the stability and allocative efficiency of the euro area financial system. Second, looking more broadly at the global financial system, the emergence of the euro can be characterised by three main features: the international use of the euro; its contribution to a multipolar global financial system; and the growing need for cooperation among currency zones, as highlighted by the recent financial market turmoil.