Annual Reception 2015: Speech of Dr Reto Francioni, Chief Executive Officer, Deutsche Börse AG

1. Convenience translation from German into English
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New Year’s Reception 2015
Deutsche Börse Group
19 January 2015
[Embargoed until 19 Jan, begin of
Francioni´s speech]
Reto Francioni
Chief Executive Officer
Deutsche Börse AG, Frankfurt/Main

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speech
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Honourable Chancellor,
Honourable President of the Bundesrat,
ladies and gentlemen,
Allow me to take this opportunity to welcome you, which for me will
be for the last time. I am therefore all the more grateful to be able to
say a few words to you today. Above all, I would like to use this
speech to express my gratitude.
First of all to you, Chancellor. Thank you so much for your fascinating
speech, your work on behalf of the Frankfurt financial centre, and of
course for your visit! I am particularly grateful for your visit,
Chancellor, since you were forced to turn us down last year following
an unpleasant but fortunately not too serious encounter with the
effects of gravity on snowy ground. But today you are here in full
health, and we have just heard what that means. So thank you for
being here, and thank you for your interest in us, the Frankfurt
financial community!
Ladies and gentlemen, almost exactly two years ago at this same
event I said that market growth would above all be seen in Asia rather
than Europe. I told you that Deutsche Börse considered itself to be in
an exceptionally favourable position to safeguard its hard-won market
position on the European and Asian markets and to make its mark
with a considerable lead in China.
We continued to make considerable progress in this respect over the
past year. Take our strategic alliance with the Bank of China, for
example, which allowed the Frankfurt financial centre to become the

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euro zone’s first ever clearing centre for the renminbi. And then there
are our activities in Singapore, which we are continuing to expand by
setting up a clearing house. These are just some of the achievements
that we owe mainly to our Asia Task Force, which does an
outstanding job and that I would also like to thank this evening.
The expansion of our activities in Asia reflects the region’s shift in
economic importance and growth. A few weeks ago it was reported in
the media that China had overtaken the United States in terms of
national purchasing power over the past year. And with growth rates
in the region of seven per cent, on the existing, impressive basis,
China will continue to build on this lead.
Asia has seen a correspondingly rapid rise in demand for safe and
integrated exchange services. The continent has become the engine of
the global economy, and is likely to remain so for the foreseeable
future. I find this encouraging, because not so long ago only Europe
and the United States played significant economic roles. Today we
have three strong regions.
Asia, ladies and gentlemen, is one of our central topics. But the future
of the global financial services industry as a whole is equally
important. In October 2008, the world of finance stood on the brink
of disaster following the collapse of Lehman Brothers. The resulting
crisis of trust was enormous in scale. Trust is the foundation of all
business – and nowhere is that more true than in the financial
services sector. But trust is above all a product of integrity, decency
and responsibility. These values have always been important to us,
and will continue to guide our actions.

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Seven years on from the events of 2008, we can say that the most
serious financial crisis of recent decades has been overcome even if
the government debt crisis continues to persist in some countries of
the euro area. Chancellor, from a political perspective, the fact that
the worst case scenario was averted can largely be attributed to you.
And so I would like to thank you now on behalf of many of my
colleagues for all that you have done for Europe over the years.
Of course I would not want to talk about stability – especially price
stability – without mentioning the outstanding achievements of the
Bundesbank and the European Central Bank.
Ladies and gentlemen, honoured guests, all of you have earned my
utmost respect for what you have achieved by working so hard
together. Times have not been easy, and we still have a lot of work to
do. I am extremely proud that, even in the darkest of hours, our
systems played a part in stabilising the situation. For this my gratitude
is owed in no small part to my colleagues, with whom I have worked
at this impressive company for more than a decade.

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The stability of the European financial markets is one thing. Another
is growth and the creation of jobs in Europe. This must be a matter of
priority for all of us. In particular European Commission President
Jean-Claude Juncker has defined it as a political priority for the years
ahead. Among other things, the proposed capital markets union is
intended to implement the vision of an integrated and harmonised
European financial market. Its primary aim, however, is to improve
access to additional sources of financing as well as traditional bank
financing in order to contribute to the growth of the European markets
and a level of prosperity that extends beyond Europe. This evening I
would like to promise that Deutsche Börse AG will lend its emphatic
support to this plan.
Ladies and gentlemen, on a personal note: As you know, after a
decade of leading Deutsche Börse I will be handing over my
responsibilities to my successor Mr. Carsten Kengeter in the middle of
this year, and I would also like to welcome him personally. This
represents a transition to a new generation. Mr. Kengeter, I would like
to wish you all the best and the continued success that this company
deserves! I myself will be happy to remain associated with Frankfurt’s
financial centre, but at the same time I am looking forward to the next
stage in my life.

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Finally, as those of you who have been coming for many years will
know, all that remains for me to do is to give you a matchless piece of
wisdom from the world of football for the start of another year on the
stock exchange. This year I would like to fall back on my favourite
quote, which is from the Austrian footballer Hans Krankl and not
Lothar Matthäus. For me it cannot be beaten as a motto for the future
of this company, for the financial centre and for the world of politics
[slight pause]: "We have to win; everything else is of primary
importance."
There is nothing that I can add to that. Chancellor, honoured guests,
thank you for listening, and I would like to wish you an entertaining
evening and health and success in 2015.