In view of the potential of SMEs in the economy, significant emphasis has been accorded by the Government in developing and strengthening the capacity of the SMEs to contribute to the economy. Twelve Government Ministries and 38 Agencies are involved in supporting the development of SMEs. To ensure the effectiveness of the strategies to support SMEs, the Government established the National SME Development Council in June 2004. The Council, chaired by the Prime Minister, provides the policy direction of the programmes to support the SMEs, and to ensure that these programmes are implemented effectively. Bank Negara Malaysia is the Secretariat to the Council. The Government's commitment to promoting the role of the SME sector in the economy has been to provide an enabling environment for their development. A comprehensive approach has therefore been adopted. In 2007, a total of 190 key programmes, involving a financial commitment of RM3.7 billion, is being implemented by the Government, to strengthen the enabling infrastructure, to build the capacity and capability of the SMEs, and to enhance SME access to financing. Indeed, for access to financing, several key strategies and measures have already been implemented to ensure that SMEs, at different stages of the business life cycle, have adequate access to financing. The banking system continues to be the most significant source of financing in the economy. An important strategy to ensure access to financing by the SMEs has therefore been to increase access to financing from the banking institutions.

Supervisory Cooperation  To support responsible openness to international wholesale banking, be it as branches or subsidiaries, and to meet our objectives on safety and soundness and financial stability, we need confidence that: a. the Home State Supervisory regime delivers outcomes which are sufficiently equivalent to the UK regime; b. there is effective supervisory cooperation; and c.  3 4  there is assurance over the home state resolution framework. https://www.bankofengland.co.uk/speech/2020/sam-woods-city-banquet https://www.bankofengland.co.uk/financial-stability-report/2020/december-2020 4  All speeches are available online at www.bankofengland.co.uk/news/speeches and @BoE_PressOffice  4  The first and last points concern in large part the legislative framework, rules and powers of intervention that home states and authorities have. The better the outcomes they deliver, so the more reliance we can place on risks arising from overseas operations being manageable. The second point is about how those powers are applied, the practices, and openness of overseas authorities that wield them. It is on this point that I want to focus as a supervisor. Cooperation with Home State Supervisors  For both branches and subsidiaries, the PRA places reliance on cooperating closely with the Home State Supervisor, for branches this is particularly the case for prudential requirements, because a branch is not a separate legal entity. But for both there needs to be effective regulatory and supervisory cooperation if openness is to be ‘responsible’. We have a long history of working very effectively with a range of supervisory authorities, including the US, EU, Switzerland, Japan, and many others.