Jean-Claude Trichet, the president of the European Central Bank (ECB), on Friday stressed the importance of the forthcoming European Systemic Risk Board (ESRB) in coordinating a strategy for macroprudential supervision. Speaking at a lecture in London, he also flagged a pressing need to address global imbalances.

Asked which imbalances and bubbles posed the greatest threat, Trichet initially said only that there were "those entities that have great imbalances." Pressed on whether he meant China