Hewitt said the presence of the all major banks and businesses, and expertise in commercial transactions had made London a centre for all euro-related transactions. "Within a month from its formal launch, euro has displaced dollar as the primary currency in the international bond market, and world economies cannot afford to ignore it," she added. "Our priority is to deliver a stable economic environment to allow business and investment to flourish and this would not be served by joining before we were certain that United Kingdom could live with common European interest rates." The British economy was at a differentstage of the economic cycle and its entry at this stage would have complicated the whole process of converting to a common currency, said the director for Europe, Bank of England, John Townsend.