a project would bring to the banking sector, as well as to households and businesses in cyprus. the tender process is now in its final stages of completion and the successful tendering company that will implement the technological platform should be announced soon. finally, and without repeating myself, another challenge that our banks face relates to the risks associated with climate change. as i mentioned in a speech on esg ( environmental, social and governance ) earlier this week, banks must accelerate, enhance and adapt their climate risk mitigation strategies. the fact that certain banks have started making tangible steps in this regard is a positive development, but they are still early on the learning curve and behind their european peers. we acknowledge the challenge that this poses, especially for smaller banks. however, they must act faster and more decisively to meet our supervisory expectations of incorporating climaterelated risks into their overall risk management frameworks, which will ultimately also target their clientele, and the submission of detailed climate related information in order to inform the banks'risk management processes. concluding remarks so with this in mind, when it comes to challenges, it is important to note that these emerge through various channels. the challenges i mentioned, require significant upfront investment, cultural change and contribution from different stakeholders before reaping the benefits. and the time for cyprus banks is now. their strong capital position, ample liquidity and materially increased profitability can and must drive, without delay, their transformation towards a sustainable and competitive business model to address the challenges ahead. complacency emanating from short term profits is not a viable option. sustainability through transformation is the way forward. the cbc will continue pushing for this and will support this effort. 4 / 4 bis - central bankers'speeches

by the big banks, while the smaller banks are still lagging far behind. so the project aims to provide a possible solution also for the longstanding problem of the non - resolved non - performing loans that are still present at a number of banks. the aim is to make them more resilient for future shocks but also free the time of banks'management and enable them to focus on their core banking business and improve their banking offer and service to their clients. it is therefore of equal importance that the banking sector steps up its efforts to address its structural weaknesses in order to build a sustainable business model. in doing so, banks need to elevate their service levels. in the changing business environment, banks must utilise the opportunities that technology offers in order to enhance their service channels, train their employees in this direction and reduce response times. i have made this point a number of times to the banking sector leadership and stressed the importance for cyprus banks to promote and facilitate more efficient ways of doing business. in this respect, banks are currently engaged in transforming their business models towards technologically more advanced services, with digitization being the focus of this effort. investment in technology can become the catalyst in the effort to strengthen efficiency and build sustained profitability. this should ultimately bridge the current gap that exists with the rest of the eu area banks. in order to further encourage, promote and support domestic financial innovation, the cbc announced last december the operation of its innovation hub. the innovation hub aims to become an official platform for communication between the cbc, as a supervisory and regulatory authority, and businesses or start - ups active in financial technology sectors, in other words fintech, that is, combining innovative technology with financial services. 3 / 4 bis - central bankers'speeches thus, the innovation hub is a crucial step in the broader context of the supervisory objectives and priorities that we have set at the cbc, which include innovation, digital operational resilience, digital transformation and cybersecurity. additionally, as i announced in my last year's speech here, the cbc took the initiative to formulate and implement the'digital onboarding'project. as a reminder, this project's goal is to establish faster, more flexible and efficient banking services by developing the technological platform to allow the digital onboarding of clients and the digital monitoring and renewal of information of clients. we undertook this initiative despite the fact that it is not the responsibility of the cbc. we have nevertheless recognized the multiple benefits that such