However, independent of specific events, the question arises whether regulatory and oversight control has kept up with this development everywhere. It is indeed rather problematic that custody activities lie in a grey area between banking supervision and system oversight. In some countries where the tasks deriving from banking supervision and system oversight are performed by separate authorities the regulatory and oversight  4  BIS Review 28/2003  framework is very likely to be incomplete or at least sub-optimal unless the two authorities succeed in establishing a strong and effective co-operation. This aspect seems all the more important as large custodians tend to become direct competitors to traditional market utilities like CSDs and ICSDs. This said, I must admit that regulatory and oversight authorities should address this issue with the aim of allowing an acceptable level playing field among large custodians and providers of market utilities. The aim here is not the protection of incumbents against efficient predators - or of Little Red Riding Hood against the big bad wolf - but rather to restrict the use made by large individual suppliers of their powerful market position which eventually could lead to outright dependency of the former customers of CSDs and ICSDs on huge and incontestable financial service suppliers. In view of these challenges, there is good reason to critically reassess rules and regulations related to securities clearing and settlement systems as well as to the way regulatory and oversight responsibilities are implemented in practice. A predominantly national approach no longer serves market needs.

The public debt and fiscal consolidation are still an area that requires additional vigilance by the policymakers in emerging economies, especially in light of changing financial conditions in the upcoming period. Around a decade after the global crisis, we have seen that the banks, globally, are in a quite better shape. However, the reforms and Basel requirements should be fully implemented in order to build resilient banks. The digitalization is yet another interesting phenomenon of today’s life and unavoidable element of the current global environment. Fintech in banking industry provides new revolutionary approach to the supply of banking services, as a response of the banks to the changing habits of their clients. This creates new opportunities, but also risks that regulatory authorities must be aware of. Therefore, globalization and innovation in financial sector call for deepening the international cooperation between authorities in different fields of operation. This conference is just one of the possible forms of this international cooperation. Today, we will discuss the empirical findings from the research papers received upon our Call for papers, on different and very important central banking issues, while tomorrow we will have panel discussions on policy issues with high-level representatives from central banks and international institutions. I believe that all together, we will make contribution by answering the pending economic questions that I mentioned earlier and exchanging experiences that will enable us to better cope with the future challenges. I wish you interesting conference, fruitful discussion and pleasant stay in Ohrid! Thank you. 2/2  BIS central bankers' speeches