Increasing financial access is another channel through which to drive equal opportunity for all. ASEAN has a large population that is currently underserved with average exclusion level at 44%. Reducing this exclusion level means an increase in opportunities for people and businesses and contribute to sustainable growth of ASEAN. Lastly, ASEAN banks need to intensify our commitment to strengthening regional financial connectivity. The ASEAN region remains the world’s beacon of hope and a bright spot. One driver of growth in our region is the increased intensity of connectivity via trade, investment, and people as we reach our integration goals. Tangible benefits of increasing intraregional trade and investment have been witnessed; however, much work remains with regards to financial connectivity. More long-term benefits for regional growth need to be realized, and financial connectivity reinforced. There are a number of important initiatives that both regulators and bankers in ASEAN need to collaborate to further connect our ASEAN financial systems. There will be greater business opportunities through the strengthening of partnerships amongst ASEAN banks and increased usage of cross-border financial services by introducing proper infrastructure and fee structure. Expansions of banking presences through the Qualified ASEAN Banks (QABs) will enable greater efficiency and reduce costs of businesses for both bankers and customers alike. At present, Thailand is in the process of negotiating bilateral QAB frameworks with Malaysia and Indonesia. And yesterday, in Nay Pyi Taw, the Central Bank of Myanmar and Bank of Thailand signed a letter of intent to start the QAB negotiation process.

We commend the extensive IMF exercise, using data from millions of European companies and agree with its main conclusions. Job retention schemes, moratoriums on payment obligations, grants and credit guarantees can be effective in improving companies’ liquidity needs, even more so in advanced than in emerging economies. However, moving forward, the increase in indebtedness does raise concerns for solvency risks and investment prospects. It is true that, from the central banks’ perspective, all chapters of the report are extremely relevant. Personally, I always look towards the IMF’s research findings for confirmations of our own scenarios, different perspectives on certain topics, or even red flags. More broadly, the 2020 Regional Economic Outlook (REO) for Europe provides a much-needed analysis, from the IMF’s point of view of the opportunities and challenges that our region can expect following a very difficult year of restrictions, as well as social and economic difficulties. For 2020, the IMF forecasted a contraction of real GDP in Europe of 7 percent, the biggest contraction after World War II. Thanks to the extraordinary policy response, even more dramatic consequences have been avoided. I understand that the full extent of the pandemic’s impact on companies in 2020 is yet to be revealed as time passes and more data becomes available. I agree that long-lasting changes in the structure of the economy will occur, even though they are hard to predict at this moment.