, regulators should be prepared to appropriately tailor regulatory or supervisory expectations, to the extent possible within our respective authorities, to facilitate fintech innovations that produce benefits for consumers, businesses, and the financial system. at the same time, any contemplated adjustments must also appropriately manage corresponding risks. 4 / 6 bis central bankers'speeches federal reserve fintech engagement to better understand technological changes in lending, payments, and other areas, the federal reserve has been engaging with a wide range of market participants to understand barriers to socially beneficial innovations. our unique structure, with board and reserve bank staff in over 30 locations, allows us to tap expertise in markets and innovation centers across the country to help establish channels of communication, including with nonbank participants with whom we may not otherwise have regular contact. the federal reserve also engages in ongoing communication with other regulators to promote, to the greatest extent possible, consistency in approaches and alignment of supervisory requirements. exchanging ideas and discussing fintech innovations with other regulators is critical to understanding and vetting risks and, where appropriate, reaching consistent views regarding the application of laws, regulations, or guidance. finally, we recognize the value of technical expertise. with fintech, as with any other emerging financial product or service, the federal reserve is learning as much as we can to ensure that we have a robust understanding of the technologies and activities in which banks and other financial firms are engaging, and to inform the development of our policy and supervisory approaches. to that end, the federal reserve board has established a multidisciplinary working group that is engaged in a 360 - degree analysis of fintech innovation. we are bringing together the best thinking across the federal reserve system, spanning key areas of responsibility — from supervision to community development, from financial stability to payments — to assess the impact of technological development on the federal reserve ’ s responsibilities. as part of this effort, federal reserve senior officials and staff have been closely watching developments in fintech, evaluating its impact on financial services delivery, and assessing the policy and supervisory implications in this arena. conclusion current developments in the digitization of finance, including the establishment of new business models, are important and deserving of serious engagement on the part of policymakers and regulators. as policymakers, we want to facilitate innovation where it has the potential to yield broad social benefit, while ensuring that risks are thoroughly managed. in safeguarding the public interest, the first line of analysis and protection will always rest with the market participants closest to the new technologies and product innovations and to

deutsche bundesbank in the middle of this year, i worked for many years as state secretary in the federal state of baden - wurttemberg where, above all, i dealt with issues relating to the integration of citizens with migrant backgrounds. i have always taken these issues very seriously. in fact, in 2004, i was the first politician in the baden - wurttemberg government to hold a speech at the yaruz sultan selim mosque in mannheim – germany ’ s largest – on intensifying cooperation. as i mentioned previously, there are currently around 3. 5 million muslim citizens in germany. according to a study carried out by the university of tubingen, by 2030 this number will have almost doubled. although a large part of the muslims living in germany have integrated well, unfortunately, there is also often a tendency for muslims to segregate themselves from their western surroundings. often families and young people whose parents or grandparents came to germany from the arab states and turkey shut themselves off from german society. to be quite honest, it was for this reason that i was initially rather sceptical towards the issue of " islamic finance in germany ". my concern was that the creation or support of additional islamic financial services would support the creation of parallel societies in germany. i now believe that the development of a range of halal finance products – particularly in retail banking – would make an important contribution to supporting the integration of our muslim fellow citizens. if this enables these citizens to play an active role in business life in germany and to build up material assets without conflicting with their beliefs, it will support, in particular, those middle - class muslims who are ready and willing to integrate. the example of a stable and financially successful middle class, in my opinion, will provide positive incentives which should prevent the development of parallel societies. ladies and gentlemen “ islamic finance – the european challenge ” : the challenges faced by banks, supervisors and legislators as a result of islamic finance are by no means minor. i do believe, however, that it is worth the effort to face these challenges, not only both from a business and financial perspective but also most significantly for socio - political reasons. let us take on these challenges together. i would like to finish by wishing you all a successful and fruitful conference and hope you are able to make useful contacts. thank you very much for your attention.