The IFSB has urged the Islamic institutions to follow specified procedures for assessing their capital adequacy in terms of the nature of risks and pursue strategies to maintain their capital at required levels. It has also required supervisors to review and assess internal assessment measures of these institutions’ capital adequacy and ensure their compliance with the required capital level and take supervisory measures in case of non-compliance. In addition, the Board has urged supervisory authorities to take prudential measures to prevent the decrease of capital to lower than minimum level, and stipulate quick correcting measures in case of such a decrease. Stress tests are considered one of the prudential measures that the Islamic Financial Services Board (IFSB) is keen to emphasize, and it urges Islamic financial institutions to apply them, including the assessment of prudential and control steps to reduce qualitative and quantitative risks, apart from applying transparency and accounting disclosure in financial reporting. In the realm of coordination with the national supervisory authorities, the IFSB seeks to enhance work in the area of consolidated and effective supervision and ensure the stability of the Islamic financial system by abiding to best practices for risk management and transparency. In this vein, the IFSB organizes conferences and symposiums for supervisory authorities and those interested in this industry. The IFSB also endeavors diligently to work with international and regional institutions, research centers and educational institutes to promote this significant industry. Dear audience, In Saudi Arabia, we are aware of the importance of Shari’ah-compliant banking products and services.

Niklaus Blattner: System stability and security of the systems Summary of a speech by Prof Dr Niklaus Blattner, Vice-Chairman the Governing Board of the Swiss National Bank, at the Luzerner Tage für Informationssicherung (LUTIS, conference on information security), Lucerne, 25 May 2004. The references for the speech can be found on the Swiss National Bank’s website. *  *  *  The stability of the banking system and the security of the financial market infrastructure - including the stock exchanges and especially payment and securities settlement systems - have become an important concern of central banks all over the world in recent years. This has notably happened against the background of the numerous financial crises witnessed during the past decades. Moreover, events such as 9/11 have heightened awareness for the security of the financial markets and other infrastructures. In Switzerland, the growing importance of system stability has also been reflected in the new National Bank Act, which entered into force on 1 May 2004. Within the framework of its principal mandate of pursuing a monetary policy in the interests of the country as a whole while at the same time ensuring price stability, the Swiss National Bank (SNB) is legally obliged to make a contribution to system stability and to facilitate and secure the operation of cashless payment systems. In implementing its mandate, the SNB takes preventive measures as well as measures aimed at overcoming crises. For instance, in a crisis the National Bank plays an important role in providing liquidity.