direct channel without commissions. the high internet and mobile phone penetration in malaysia suggests that internet or mobile insurance makes good sense. other untapped channels include banking agents, retail chains, employers and cooperatives. we expect the industry to fully adopt these channels to diversify delivery of services. new products and delivery channels that enhance outreach ultimately contribute towards expansion of a larger industry, and pool of customers for all participants in the insurance sector as a whole. in other words, it is not a zero sum game. everybody will gain. insurance agents and financial advisers will continue to provide a valuable service as households and businesses move up the income ladder and require more personalised advice on product options. it is important that this evolution is accompanied by a strong focus on raising standards of professional competence. increasing the proportion of full time agents from the current 40 % in the life sector and 30 % in the general sector will be a vital component of this agenda. equally important is ensuring that remuneration structures are aligned with the bis central bankers ’ speeches interests of consumers. the implementation of the balanced scorecard is an important step in this direction and should not be further delayed or diluted. there is no question that the potential for growth in the insurance and takaful industry is significant, with estimates placing the life and medical insurance protection gap alone in malaysia at between rm550, 000 and rm723, 000 per household. closing this protection gap is ultimately the moral responsibility of the industry. microinsurance and microtakaful should be further developed to improve access to the underserved segment of society. charles handy who conceived the concept of the “ s - curve ”, has this to say, “ it is one of the paradoxes of success that the things and the ways which got you where you are, are seldom those that keep you there ”. a reminder that is worth heeding. bis central bankers ’ speeches

supranational debt instruments. we could even think about the ecb / eurosystem playing an active role in setting up such an issuance service. and we could consider whether and to what extent new technologies, like distributed ledger technology ( dlt ), can be used in that process. target instant payment settlement ( tips ) turning to the retail payments market, i have to say that, despite the introduction of standardised retail payment instruments and harmonised processing rules, the retail payments market infrastructure in europe is still fragmented. apart from a few exceptions, automated clearing houses ( achs ) still primarily focus on their respective national markets. the availability of a safe and efficient market infrastructure that can guarantee the processing of instant payments across europe is a prerequisite for the launch of pan - european instant payment solutions. payment service providers should have the choice to either clear their instant payments through achs or use a settlement service for instant payments. earlier this month, the eurosystem launched a market consultation on user requirements and the expected volumes for a settlement service for instant payments in central bank money. the proposed target instant payment settlement ( tips ) service would offer a series of benefits to the payment service providers. first, it would guarantee pan - european reachability for instant payments. second, it would give payment service providers the possibility to use their credit lines stemming from their collateralised positions in target2. third, it would eliminate credit risk, thus leading the way to faster and efficient settlement. last but not least, it would give payment service providers more choice : they could either connect directly to tips or channel their payment instructions for instant payments through their respective ach. the eurosystem will take a decision by june 2017 on whether to develop the service, based on the results of the public consultation. tips could commence operations as soon as 2018. conclusion let me conclude. with the migration of the german market to t2s next week, the time has come to reap the actual 2 / 3 bis central bankers'speeches benefits of harmonisation in the post - trade area in europe. but this does not mean we can slacken in our efforts. there is still a need for further and coordinated action in the harmonisation of post - trade processes. there are also gaps that remain in the financial market integration process when it comes to securities issuance. and there is a need for action in instant payment settlement across europe. the ecb, together with market stakeholders, has to explore how to