Revolutionary as they were for the public, these changes didn’t transform the banking business substantially. Banks kept taking short-term deposits to on-lend at longer maturities. They kept clearing funds and settling balances with one another and with the central bank to meet liquidity and reserve requirements. The main change for monetary policy in most countries was to switch from the control of monetary aggregates to the fixing of the policy rate for overnight liquidity operations. Technology is now creating opportunities for changes in financial services that are more farreaching, both for the public, financial institutions and central banks. Information technologies are doing this because finance is an information and record keeping business. By challenging the conventional centralized, multi-layered settlement and clearing system, distributed ledgers, supplemented by a number of other technological developments, create the possibility of an unbundling of financial services that question the very notion of a bank. These are exciting times not only for financial start-ups and the public, but also for leaders of developing countries, that see in these technological developments the opportunity to leapfrog financial development and remove one major roadblock to inclusive economic growth. To materialize this, however, policy makers—including central banks—need to make sure that they are not exposing people to greater risk, especially when they are using financial services for the first 18  Central Bank of Chile 29 June, 2017  time. Moreover, they may want enhanced access to financial services to facilitate formalization of economic activity rather than grow the shadow economy further.

In particular, the advent of bancassurance and bancatakaful has seen more players packaging life insurance and family takaful with innovative investment options that incorporate banking product features. Today, bancassurance and bancatakaful constitutes a significant feature of Malaysia's financial landscape, and continues to develop rapidly in terms of market reach and operational sophistication. The recent passage of the Insurance (Amendment) Bill on Financial Advisers marks yet another important milestone in ongoing efforts to achieve a more diversified market structure. With the legislative framework now in place, I am pleased to announce that Bank Negara Malaysia will soon be issuing licences for financial advisers. The introduction of financial advisers in the Malaysian insurance industry will further diversify the distribution system for life insurance. Corporate bodies with a minimum paid-up capital of RM100,000 will be eligible to apply for a financial adviser's licence. Similar amendments to the Takaful Act 1984 will be undertaken in the near future within the context of more substantive and wide-ranging changes to the current legislation. Our foundations for financial stability will also continue to be strengthened with the ongoing evolution of a more diversified and balanced financial structure. Today, Malaysia stands at the forefront in the provision of comprehensive Islamic financial services covering banking, takaful, and the capital and money markets. In the area of takaful, Bank Negara Malaysia continues to undertake initiatives aimed at developing significant market players that are able to compete effectively and efficiently.