There is more than conventional rhetoric in these words. This mention, in a document essentially devoted to the handling of financial crisis, surely testifies to the recognition by the world’s financial leaders that the success or failure of poor countries in finding their own way toward integration and development in an interdependent world will have a major influence on what the twenty-first century will be. This means that the solidity of our new architecture will crucially depend on the way in which, for the poorest countries, monetary and financial strategies, on the one hand, and poverty alleviation strategies, on the other hand, are made mutually reinforcing. Poverty alleviation is chiefly, of course, the task of the World Bank, the regional development banks and bilateral donors. Among the latter, it is quite encouraging, indeed, to see the energy and enthusiasm with which the British Minister for Development - an MP from Birmingham, as a matter of fact! - Ms. Clare Short, is promoting the DAC Target of reducing by one half the proportion of the world’s population living in extreme poverty by 2015. 3 These objectives are ambitious, but they remain realistic, provided industrial countries join forces in stopping the present decline of development assistance and implement their agreed commitment to support, as needed, countries that truly own their national strategies for sustainable development. Among the latter, I would agree that particular priority be given to post - conflict countries where we must join forces to give new chances to reconciliation, peace and development.

Unquestionably, digital natives make up a very large and, above all, growing number of the 1/5  BIS central bankers' speeches  population, and they are naturally an attractive customer segment for the sector. However, we must not forget that there are still sections of the population that continue to rely on traditional banking services. No “neobank” plans on competing to attract the least digitally savvy segment of the population. The report describes the potential strategies being tested to lure and retain these groups, such as shifting from human service to virtual interaction, where queries are answered using machine learning or artificial intelligence techniques (such as chatbots). These initiatives are interesting, but overcoming their limitations will require further efforts to support education, both in digital and financial literacy, since these new channels open the possibility of many more services being arranged with a single click. The techniques used also need to respect some of our society’s fundamental values, as reflected by the proposed regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council on the use of artificial intelligence algorithms. Moreover, given that these groups may be more vulnerable to fraud and the rising cyber threat, monitoring must be maximised. In this regard, the report points to deepfake technology, which could put consumers at risk of identity theft. Yet more conventional fraud techniques, such as phishing, can be equally dangerous for those who only envisage arranging a financial product by walking into a branch, shaking hands and signing a document.