Benoît Cœuré: Interview in Kathimerini Interview with Mr Benoît Cœuré, Member of the Executive Board of the European Central Bank, in Kathimerini, conducted by Ms Eirini Chrysolora and published on 5 September 2018. * * *  Does the completion of the programme mark a new era for Greece in your view? Is enhanced surveillance not just a continuation of the programme? Let me start by saying that it would be all too easy to take the opportunity of Greece graduating from the programme to turn the page and say “mission accomplished”. The programme years have been very difficult for the Greek people. Policymakers across Europe have a duty to learn the lessons of this painful journey and improve policy, at both European and national levels. With hindsight, one can argue that the design of the programmes could have been more effective in supporting social safety nets and combating rent-seeking, that the pace of reform of the financial sector could have been faster, and that the need for debt reduction was overlooked by creditors. All this has gradually improved over time. I would like to congratulate the Greek government for its remarkable work in recent years, implementing key reforms in the economy and the society in general and in the financial sector in particular. For example, social solidarity income helps direct scarce resources to those who need them most, and opening up industries or sectors, such as pharmacies, benefits households which have borne the brunt of crisis adjustment.

MAS is supporting corporates in Singapore and in Asia to issue green, sustainability and sustainability-linked bonds and loans. MAS introduced a grant scheme in 2017 to help corporates defray the costs of issuing green, social, sustainability and sustainability-linked bonds aligned with international standards. Last year, MAS introduced a similar scheme for green and sustainability-linked loans, the first of its kind in the world. The outcomes from these efforts have been encouraging. Despite the pandemic, green and sustainability-linked loan issuances in Singapore grew by 65% last year. Some $ billion of green, social and sustainability bonds were issued in 2020, bringing total issuance in Singapore to $ billion. These loans and bonds have supported many meaningful outcomes – such as renewable energy, green buildings, sustainable water and wastewater treatment. The Singapore government will start issuing green bonds to finance major sustainability projects, including green public infrastructure. This should help to deepen market liquidity for green bonds, and attract green issuers, capital, and investors to Singapore. Second, promote innovative disaster risk insurance products to strengthen climate risk resilience in Asia. Singapore has gained good traction as an Asian domicile for insurance-linked securities – innovative instruments that securitise and transfer peak risks such as catastrophe risks to capital markets. A total of 10 such insurance-linked securities have been launched in Singapore. They cover a range of natural catastrophes across Asia and Australia, including earthquake and typhoon 3/7  BIS central bankers' speeches  risks. Third, attract green funds and asset managers with a sustainability focus.