1 Financial intermediation 4 1.1 Structured securities: simpler in the future? 4 1.2 Bank deposits a safe haven for households in 2007 6 2 Banks and insurance corporations 9 2.1 Banks' results deteriorated in Finland in the first quarter 2008 9 2.2 Performance of large financial groups has weakened in the Nordic countries 11 3 Securities markets 13 3.1 Rising costs weakening the profitability of listed companies. 13 3.2 Closer monitoring of credit rating agencies in the EU 15 4 Infrastructure 17 4.1 TARGET2-Securities: Decision making time approaches 17 5 Key regulatory and supervisory initiatives 19 5.1 Progress in EU arrangements for promoting financial market stability 19 6 Key corporate arrangements and events in the financial sector 21