number of cfa charter holders and expects the numbers to grow as more and more sbp officers pursue cfa certification. ladies and gentlemen, let me now shed some light on why it is necessary for all of us to equip ourselves with advance knowledge and tools proactively. the global financial crises ( gfc ) has aptly demonstrated the havoc that can be caused when profit taking motive combines with lack of transparency and disclosure standards, inadequate awareness of sophisticated financial products, optimistic expectations about asset pricing and lax regulatory standards. the global financial crisis forced the regulatory attention towards containing systemic risk and ensuring financial stability through strong capital and liquidity standards ( such as basel iii ), more stringent regulations, and introduction of macro prudential policy toolkit. financial stability demands timely identification of systemic vulnerabilities along with mitigating measures to limit page 2 of 5 the spillovers and keep the public confidence intact. appreciably, cfa institute has updated its curriculum to address the key lessons learnt from the global crisis. ladies and gentlemen ; not surprisingly, ensuring financial stability has now become the number one priority of many of the central banks around the world. sbp is also playing a pivotal role in ensuring stability of the financial sector in pakistan. in line with its vision 2020 ’ s focus on strengthening the financial stability regime in pakistan, sbp has established a separate financial stability department ( fsd ). an executive level financial stability executive committee ( fsec ) has also been constituted within sbp which is entrusted with the responsibility of discussing and monitoring financial stability issues. further, sbp and secp have formed a council of regulators, which will act as a forum for deliberating issues related to systemic risk, particularly those having cross market stability implications. work is also underway to form a national level financial stability council ( nfsc ) involving other stake holders such as ministry of finance. it is no secret that developed financial institutions act as a catalyst for enhancing financial intermediation, reduce information asymmetries and allow central banks to implement and achieve policy objectives. monetary policy is, generally, implemented through money and foreign exchange markets where financial institutions, particularly the banks, play a pivotal role. if financial institutions are fairly mature, markets are efficient and there is low uncertainty, the effectiveness of monetary policy increases as the monetary signals are smoothly transmitted to the entire spectrum of the yield curve. sbp, through its various policies and initiatives, has been endeavoring to create an enabling environment for the

yaseen anwar : mobile banking in pakistan speech by mr yaseen anwar, governor of the state bank of pakistan, at the 6th international conference on “ mobile banking in pakistan ”, karachi, 14 march 2013. * * * good morning ladies and gentlemen i am indeed delighted to be here today at this conference on mobile banking. i would like to congratulate the organizers for arranging this important conference, which has now become an annual event to showcase the developments, and measure the progress made by mobile banking in the country. through these annual conferences, all of us have been identifying various challenges and finding new solutions, and thus transforming branchless banking into vibrant and innovative industry in pakistan. let me first briefly talk about the significance of mobile commerce and then move on to the mobile banking, its role in promoting financial inclusion, and our responsibilities to strengthen mobile banking in pakistan. mobile commerce is generally characterized by a variety of business partnerships often involving a large number of organizations, from content providers to financial institutions to mobile network operators. after successful application of mobile commerce as an alternative channel for delivery of payment services in developed countries, the concept is now also taking roots in developing countries. the usage of innovative and unconventional channels will dominate the conventional means of business and communication, as evidenced by the high mobile phone subscription witnessed in pakistan. the number of mobile phone subscribers has reached 120 million. turning now to the use of mobile technology to promote financial access, there is an emerging consensus amongst policy makers around the world to improve access to financial services for poor people, through supporting the safe and sound spread of new modes of financial service delivery capable of reaching the poor. in pakistan, developments in branchless banking so far have been marvelous, leaving nobody in doubt about the potential of mobile phone banking to be a game - changer in banking, m - commerce, and financial inclusion. broadly describing these recent developments, we have been witnessing transformation in customers ’ needs and behaviors, increased competition, technological innovation, new business models, and regulatory proportionality. owing to these developments, international development agencies and media have now been highlighting pakistan for its market and institutional environment for branchless banking. in an article a few months back, the financial times counted branchless banking and microfinance initiatives in pakistan among the “ hidden forces of resilience offering the best hope for the country ’ s future ”. elaborating further, the article highlighted pakistan “ being in perpetual motion at the grassroots with ceaseless creativity as people find affordable