From a different standpoint, allow me to share one last thought with you, which is intended to highlight the importance of providing appropriate information to financial statement users. Institutions are required to help customers to understand the products that they are offered, to assess them properly and, for this purpose, to identify the risks associated with each product and tailor them in terms of customer tolerance and affordability. In this respect, the Banco de España has always recognised that the smooth working of the financial system requires well-informed consumers capable of making responsible decisions. For this reason, in February this year an Internet portal was set up for bank customers. It is receiving 2,000 visits daily. Its purpose is not to give advice or make recommendations, but to orientate consumers in their dealings with credit institutions and help to make information available to them. Well-informed consumers, together with an attitude of transparency on the part of institutions, help to increase market discipline, with the consequent favourable effect on competition and efficiency in the Spanish banking system. I would not want to finish without conveying a message of confidence in our financial system. I am sure that Spanish institutions will, as in the past, show that they are capable of facing all the challenges to which I have referred. I therefore trust that the managers of institutions will act professionally and prudently, designing business strategies that are sustainable in the medium and long term.

The wider use of commodity murabahah transactions will also add breadth and depth to the Islamic money market as it facilitates a more efficient distribution of money-market liquidity and expands the range of instruments that market participants can actively transact in. We are pleased to announce that Bank Negara Malaysia will soon be adding murabahah-based transactions to our already diverse range of policy instruments to manage short-term liquidity in the Malaysian Islamic inter-bank money market. The Bank Negara Malaysia's murabahah basedtransactions may either utilise global or Malaysian commodities as the underlying transaction, and in the future, other Shariah-approved assets similar to the Ijarah sukuk notes. The widespread usage of this globally practised financing instrument would allow market participation by a more extensive investor base, including those from the Middle-East. Product innovation must be a continuous and deliberate part of the process of market development. We are therefore firmly committed to developing the capabilities in Islamic finance and strengthening the global pool of talent and expertise in Islamic finance to increase the potential for this to happen. As part of the initiative to meet this objective, we have established the International Centre for Education in Islamic Finance, INCEIF, in March this year to offer professional certification programs in Islamic finance, in addition to, Masters and Doctorate programs. Bank Negara Malaysia has also recently  2  BIS Review 74/2006  made available a Shariah Scholarship Award and Shariah Research Grant, available to Malaysian and non-Malaysians seeking to pursue research studies in Islamic finance.