But, more than this, the digital consumer also demands choice and personalisation, transacts with a swipe of their fingers at any time of the day 24/7, and judges products based on peer reviews. Digital consumers are set to grow in significance, especially in Asia. In China, the online insurance market doubled in 2014 to $ billion, representing over 4% of total insurance premiums.1 The Boston Consulting Group estimates that the online insurance market in India will grow by more than 20 times to hit $ billion by 2020.2 Second, data analytics. Advancements in technology have allowed insurers to unlock new data and greatly improve their ability to assess and price risks. Motor insurance is a case-inpoint. In the past, insurers have traditionally relied on historical accidents and claims data to establish premiums and policy conditions. Today, telematics3 technology has allowed insurers to use real-time data to differentiate between drivers’ behaviours and better price risks. However, even as we shift from using historical data to using real-time data today,  1  China: Regulator says online insurance mart lacks variety, Asia Insurance Review eDaily (2015). 2  Insurance @ Digital-20x by 2020, The Boston Consulting Group (2014). 3  Telematics is the technology integrated with computers and mobile communications technology in automotive navigation systems, which allows efficient real-time transmission of information over networks. BIS central bankers’ speeches  1  driverless vehicles are already under trial in Singapore4 and elsewhere, with the help of environmental sensors and navigation systems.

To ensure that Thailand reaps the benefits of the changing landscape and is in the position to mobilize resources for investment and support economic growth, the Bank of Thailand is set to launch the second phase of our financial sector Master Plan this year to further enhance efficiency, robustness, and competitiveness of the Thai banking system. Our Financial Master Plan Phase II aims to promote financial system efficiency so that financial institutions can perform their functions more efficiently, becoming more competitive, with increased financial access to the public. The plan essentially comprises three pillars. The first pillar is to improve the regulatory environment and to reduce the unnecessary regulatory and legacy costs. The focus in this pillar will be on streamlining regulation, and on promoting measures and incentives to deal with legacy NPA and NPL, without compromising prudential oversight or good risk management. The second pillar is to enhance efficiency by injecting more competition into the financial system. The focus will be on financial liberalization, increasing competition from the current and new players, and promoting greater financial access. The latter will give importance to expanding the retail banking businesses and promoting new microfinance business models and players. And the third pillar is to substantially improve the economy’s financial infrastructure in the areas of risk management, credit information system, legal reform, information technology, and upgrading the quality of human resource. Such infrastructure is crucial for banks so that they can attain greater efficiency and more effective risk management at a lower cost.