It will open in July, with a staff of seven. The Singapore office will concern itself only with trading; settlement will continue to take place in Zurich. The branch office is completely subordinate to existing SNB oversight and control. Swiss franc money market and reference interest rates The continuing high level of Swiss franc liquidity has had the desired effect of keeping money market interest rates at close to zero. The three-month Libor has been at around two basis points since mid-January. Interest rate expectations, based on Libor future contracts, are also close to zero for the foreseeable future, but not negative, as was the case over much of last year. As a result of the very low money market interest rates and high liquidity in the banking sector, money market turnover has dropped substantially in recent years. This is illustrated in chart 2, which shows the total of banks’ sight deposits at the SNB, as well as turnover in the area of secured and unsecured call money. The small number of transactions on the money market is a problem for generating representative reference interest rates. In addition, the selection and setting of reference interest rates has come under the scrutiny of market participants and the public, as a consequence of the Libor manipulation. As regards the problems surrounding the Libor, efforts at reform are underway on an international level. To ensure the continuation of the Libor, a raft of measures have already been initiated.

(b) Role of Financial Integration 1/3  BIS central bankers' speeches  The private sector’s role in enhancing shared prosperity in ASEAN must be facilitated by an enabling environment for efficient cross-border business transactions. This has been achieved through greater financial integration in ASEAN including deeper banking integration; smoother capital mobility; and efficient payment and settlement systems. ASEAN central banks have made significant strides towards this end, but by no means will we coast on by. We will continue to champion financial integration that benefits all. An Asian Development Bank study in 2013 has shown that banking integration mobilises savings towards more productive investment, thereby increasing productivity and accelerating growth. This study also showed that smoother capital mobility will facilitate more competitive and productive cross-border lending and borrowing, while promoting financial sector and capital market development. Lastly, an efficient cross-border payment and settlement systems promotes cost-effective transactions by reducing the cost of doing business. Hurdles faced by ASEAN Like it or not, the path to achieving the strategic objectives of the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC) 2025 will be filled with hurdles. The pace of convergence within ASEAN would be shaped by members’ different levels of development. It is harder for countries with resource constraints to shoulder the high costs involved in undertaking structural and institutional changes, which are required for effective integration. In overcoming such hurdles, I stand proud in acknowledging that ASEAN adopts a gradual and phased-in approach that ensures a win-win situation for all.