These risks can easily be passed on through the global financial system, because of the different time zones, and can bring about serious disturbances. There has therefore been a global collaboration on a project called CLS, Continuous Linked Settlement, for some years now. All of the dominant foreign exchange banks in the world are taking part in this project, with the aim that a joint system will settle all of the members’ foreign exchange transactions. This will enable payment in one currency to be made directly against payment in another, which will entail the credit risk that arose earlier disappearing. IT in a broad sense has, of course, also been necessary for the security of the systems for large payments that central banks around the world develop or oversee, where the trend in recent years has been towards real time gross settlement. Our own RIX system is an RTGS system, as is the TARGET system used by the ECB. I would be happy to discuss this, but it would involve a deviation from my subject here. Conclusion In conclusion, I would like to make two reflections. Firstly, it is of course the case that IT, while increasing both the efficiency and security of the financial system in general and the payment system in particular, also increases risks of a purely operational nature. Operational risks were strongly in focus prior to the new millennium, particularly in the financial sector, and extensive preparations were made to guard against them.

Financial institutions to constantly develop expertise in support of this sector. Green financing teams should have in-depth knowledge and capacity across the entire financing process flow including product development, promotions, sourcing of viable projects, effective credit assessment, holistic risk management and robust monitoring. The larger regional reach by Malaysian banks will also enhance the potential to access a wider talent pool from the region, catalyzing efforts to build a specialised human capital team needed to drive the green technology financing agenda. ii. Government policies that are further enhanced to spur the growth of the industry and create larger consumer awareness. On the supply side, more efforts should be taken to build a highly skilled workforce and increase collaboration between  BIS central bankers’ speeches  3  research institutions and businesses to commercialise and scale up innovative green technology research. On the demand side, to create incentives to encourage consumers to use green products and government procurement policies which prioritise green solutions could be explored. iii. A holistic governance structure and performance measurement system would be put in place to drive the implementation of policies and ensure that green and sustainability outcomes are achieved. This could potentially bring us to a more transparent reporting of green initiatives by various players including the Government, business and the financing community. iv. As Asia becomes increasingly more integrated, economically and financially, Malaysian financial institutions have the opportunity to leverage on regional networks to scale up their business and serve a sustainably growing green technology market in a cost-efficient manner.