to improve cost efficiency and the customer relationship. given their market knowledge and good market positions, the existing banks may adapt relatively fast by adopting new technologies in close cooperation with the fintech. in the future, banks and fintech companies may strengthen their cooperation as joint ventures, partners or other type of structures where delivery of services to the clients is shared between them. however, it is not excluded that some of the existing banks will not survive the wave of technology - enabled disruption and are replaced by new technologydriven banks founded by fintech and bigtech companies. in a more extreme scenario, which is not likely nowadays but may be viable in the very long run, banks are displaced by fintech and bigtech companies and are no longer significant players on the market. in order to establish open banking in macedonia, it is necessary to implement the best practices and regulations from european countries. although our regulation is still in drafting process, our banks are not passive in this field and are already undertaking activities for opening their it systems with new interfaces and modules for interacting with customers and external companies. the biggest challenge that can endanger this process are digital space attacks ( cyberattacks ) in this domain, which are a relevant threat with a high probability of happening. the national bank as a regulator is in charge of defining the framework for information security in our financial system. the task of our banks is to implement concrete safeguards on the technical, administrative and physical level based on performed analysis of risks from 3 / 5 bis central bankers'speeches introduction and use of new services, which includes the risks of digital attacks. in 2016, the national bank conducted thematic control through the development of a tool whereby banks made their own assessments of the inherent risk and appropriately determined the activities that they needed to fulfill on different levels of readiness from attacks from the digital space ( primary, secondary and advanced level of readiness ). blockchain technology and impact on central banks ’ activity the potential of blockchain is immense and is an issue for the central banks as well. at retail level blockchain from central bank perspective in regards to cryptocurrencies or central bank cryptocurrencies ( cbccs ) does not exist. however, the concept of a retail cbcc has been widely discussed by bloggers, central bankers and academics. while cbccs for retail payments remain at the conceptual stage, some central banks have completed proofs of concept for dlt - based applications. one of the reasons for the interest in

new areas, such as fund and wealth management, also gaining increased significance. in the more recent period, domestic islamic financial institutions have ventured on business opportunities beyond the domestic shores to tap the tremendous potential markets abroad, particularly, in the asian region. banking institutions therefore, need to build their capacity to be able to take advantage of these potential markets that are still relatively untapped. ladies and gentlemen, against the backdrop of the rapid expansion of the islamic finance sector, there is also the need to intensify efforts to provide adequate training at all levels - technical and frontline staff, middle management and senior management levels. this is important to ensure a sustained supply of human talent to support the long - term growth of islamic finance. to meet this requirement, a complete training infrastructure has been established. islamic banking and finance institute malaysia ( ibfim ), which is an industry - owned training institute, will now focus on providing technical programmes in islamic finance. the recently launched international centre for education in islamic finance ( inceif ) will provide professional certification as well as postgraduate programmes. the inceif flagship programme, the certified islamic finance professional certification programme, is scheduled to begin on 1 june 2006. for leadership development programmes, iclif will play its role in developing leaders to serve the industry, providing facilities for education in islamic finance to not only support the development of the domestic islamic financial system, but to also position malaysia as an international centre for education in islamic finance. and in so doing, this will contribute towards the global development of islamic finance. industry players therefore have the opportunity to assist their staff to acquire the necessary skills at these institutions. the islamic financial institutions also require forward - looking leaders to steer the industry in the more demanding and challenging environment. ladies and gentlemen, the huge potential in islamic finance can only be realised if sufficient resources and drive are accorded to it. in conclusion, let me take this opportunity to congratulate the ambank group on the initiative to establish its own islamic banking subsidiary and provide the necessary resources and support to ensure its success. it is our hope that amislamic bank would be able to contribute effectively in the development of the islamic financial system. i wish amislamic bank berhad every success in its endeavours. dengan lafaz bismillahirrahmanirrahim, saya dengan sukacitanya merasmikan pelancaran amislamic bank berhad. terima ka