 Remember Laura? She wanted to expand her company and sell coffee cups around Europe. For this, she needed cash. Her bank helped her get the cash she needed by issuing debt certificates, which could be sold on in the market to investors. But what Laura started also helped other businesses in Europe. Banks used Laura's debt certificates as collateral to borrow money which was used to give loans to other small businesses like Rodrigo's. In Europe's financial market, buyers, sellers and investors are spread across many different countries. But fragmentation and national practices can still sometimes make it difficult to do business across borders. That's where the European Central Bank comes in. The ECB and the national central banks of the Euro area are responsible for running the market infrastructure that makes it possible for people and businesses to buy, sell and invest in Europe. They collaborate closely with the market and the other EU institutions and are constantly working to remove fragmentation and to harmonize national practices. Through this work, cross-border business is becoming simpler, cheaper and more efficient. Money, securities and collateral are now moving around more freely and safely in the EU than ever. As technology constantly evolves, the market infrastructure must also evolve to stay efficient and secure and to offer new services that the financial market needs. The ECB is exploring recent innovation and investigating ways to streamline and modernize the existing infrastructure. The aim is to increase efficiency and to be able to keep pace with developments in the digital age. Europe's market infrastructure will be accessible via a single gateway. Cash, securities and collateral will come closer together, making it easier to manage all three in combination. This is important because cash buys securities. Securities are used as collateral and collateral can be used to borrow cash. By collaborating on international standards and offering the possibility of settlement in a variety of currencies, the ECB is also making it easier for European companies to access markets in other parts of the world as well as for non-European investors to invest in Europe. This will help your business to boom, just like Laura's and Rodrigo's. Follow us as we continue to work to make Europe a better place to do business.