It is my pleasure and honour to be invited to deliver today’s keynote address, to share my views on the importance of ethical conduct in upholding the trust of financial consumers in the quality of financial services and advice offered by financial practitioners. Alleviating the Impact of COVID-19 The wide-reaching impact from efforts to contain COVID-19 has exposed long-standing fault lines and gaps in financial management among households and businesses. While essential for the protection of lives, the impact of global and national containment strategies in the form of mass or targeted lock-downs have inadvertently impacted the livelihoods of many segments of society. These lock-downs have been gradually uplifted and are temporary in nature, but for consumers who lack adequate financial safety nets, the after-effects are real and significant. In line with our intent of providing financial reprieve to those adversely affected by this pandemic, 1/3  BIS central bankers' speeches  Bank Negara Malaysia has worked tirelessly with the banking industry to provide loan moratoriums and targeted repayment assistance to individuals and entrepreneurs who have lost their jobs or whose earnings have been adversely impacted. Similarly, we have also worked with the insurance and takaful operators to implement premium and contribution deferments from 1 April 2020 until the end of this year, to ensure policyholders and takaful participants who face temporary financial constraints can preserve essential coverage during these unprecedented times.

Unprecedented demand, especially from developing countries, requires a rapid transition to secure and inclusive digital finance.1 The study points to a double digit increase in number and volume of fintech transactions, as well as  1/4  BIS - Central bankers' speeches  continuous increase of the client base. These trends have been underpinned by changes to the existing fintech products and launch of new ones. About 60% of the surveyed fintech companies reported launching new products as a response to changing behavior and demand of clients amidst pandemics. In addition, the fact that in the last decade banking industry was dealing with the legacy issues of the global financial crisis also provided bigger space for fintech firms, as non- regulated entities, to penetrate in financial business with consumer-centric solutions. This process was facilitated by the more favorable regulatory environment, i. e., falling regulatory barriers to entry for newcomers. Concerning the benefits, I think there is no doubt that Fintech can bring enormous benefits for customers, the financial system, and the overall economy. By enabling new players and business models to enter the market, Fintech has potential to increase competition, meet unfulfilled customer needs, reduce inefficiencies and transform financial services for good. These solutions come from Fintech's ability to unbundle traditional banking services such payments, maturity transformation, and risk sharing from banks, allowing these services to be performed by non-banks, i.e., fintech firms. Furthermore, fintech solutions can enhance data analysis, leading to more personalized products.