The update of our Market Intelligence Charter and the UK Money Markets Code, published today, will embed diverse outreach into our working practices and help make diversity within financial markets a core standard of best practice. The Charter sets out our aims and ambitions of talking to a diverse range of contacts and affirms our commitment to open engagement, with an emphasis on challenge and diversity of thought.9 The updated Code, which the FCA have recently again recognised as an industry standard, puts the expectation to promote and develop a diverse team upfront, alongside other core principles of best practice, highlighting the benefits of accessing a wider range of skills and thinking. 10 This approach is also being in embedded in our outward-facing markets committees. We currently have two main committees: the Money Markets Committee and the FX Joint Standing Committee. We have been working with members from both committees to diversify their membership for some time now: including working to ensure women in senior roles are represented; and that the committees see a wider range of presenters at different stages of the career. This is yielding results: specifically, female representation – which is one aspect of diversity that has been historically lacking on many senior-level committees – is now approaching half on the UK Money Markets Committee, and has climbed to around a third for the FX Joint Standing Committee in the past 18 months. These changes were driven by the Bank but importantly with the full support of the external members.

Growth in trade between ASEAN and GCC have resumed postcrisis and is expected to receive a further boost with the ASEAN-GCC trade and investment framework agreement and FTA. I therefore urge all parties to work swiftly towards a mutually-beneficial conclusion. Reforming finance to sustain growth 8. The financial sector has encountered major turbulence and headwinds as a result of the financial crisis and has de-leveraged extensively in response to a more risk-sensitive environment. Significant changes in financial regulation are underway. Global regulators under the auspices of the Financial Stability Board, the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision, are working to put fractured financial markets back on a sounder footing. These changes include increasing the quality and quantity of risk-based capital, introducing new global liquidity requirements, and developing a fresh regulatory approach towards systemically important financial institutions. Such reforms should bring about greater stability to the global financial system. 9. These changes will not be dramatic for Singapore-based financial institutions because MAS’ regulation and supervision have been sound, prudent and effective. This has helped our financial system to remain resilient through the crisis. Last week, MAS communicated our long-standing approach in the latest monograph – “Tenets of Effective Regulation” where we reiterated that our approach to regulatory development is outcomefocused, risk appropriate and impact sensitive. MAS’ policies and actions need to be clear and consistent as well as responsive to industry and market changes and economic cycles.