inclusive, resilient, and accountable to respond to current and future challenges. as we continue on the path to recovery, overcome the trials and strive to maintain financial soundness and stability, the supervisors have a responsibility to develop the capacity of their respective teams. they should also be willing to efficiently discharge their functions if we are to succeed in achieving effective supervision of the financial institutions in a manner that aligns with globally - accepted standards. over the past two weeks, you have deepened your understanding of a wide range of topics ranging from understanding the inherent risks linked to the activities of financial institutions and measures that can be adopted to mitigate those risks, drawing from the lessons of previouslyexperienced threats to prevent their reoccurrence ; corporate governance ; compliance ; business strategy assessment ; and the use of fintech, amongst others. i sincerely hope that the knowledge and skills gained and the sharing of experiences on issues that have evolved to be very important for the operations of banks in the recent past, will be adapted as you discharge your everyday responsibilities. as i conclude, allow me to convey my deepest appreciation to mr ravi mohan and the team of highly experienced facilitators and trainers who have shared their valuable expertise and knowledge with the participants. i am confident that this will assist in further enhancing the quality of banking supervision discharged by your respective institutions across the continent against the backdrop of continuously - emerging economic developments and challenges. i also thank the imf for putting such training high on its agenda and i would like to make a special call that the imf, through ati and the regional technical assistance centres continues to provide for such regional seminars on topical subjects such as corporate governance, stress testing and riskbased supervision to name but a few. this will allow for greater enhancement of our capacity to face emerging realities in a more resilient manner. i thank you and wish you all a nice weekend. 2 / 2 bis central bankers'speeches

innovations in payments and regulation. innovative financial services have given rise to an increasing number of financial players, easing cross - border transactions, as well as providing consumers greater flexibility and choice, causing the monitoring of transactions to be more complex for financial institutions and public authorities. there are also instances whereby regulatory authorities are bypassed due to a lack of capacity and resources to monitor these innovative payment channels. it is therefore vital that work is undertaken to better understand the risks and vulnerabilities of innovative financial services and ensure that while we embrace innovation for economic growth, we also pursue responsible innovation, and manage the risks of money laundering and terrorist financing. the local financial sector has not been left behind and has to some extent experienced the ‘ fintech ’ phenomenon, ranging from increased use of electronic payment methods such as mobile and internet banking, as well as growing interest in cryptocurrencies. given this growing interest in fintech in seychelles, by consumers, the business community, as well as financial institutions, the central bank is currently in the process of engaging with relevant stakeholders to draft a national strategy on the adoption of fintech in the country. the strategy will be focussing on how fintech can effectively assist in the development of the financial sector, while taking the associated risks into consideration. it is imperative that we have close collaboration between key stakeholders working to regulate the domestic financial sector, so that there is a comprehensive understanding of the opportunities and challenges of such developments, as such collaboration and synergies are crucial to addressing any concerns or challenges, as soon as they arise. as we further our discussions on the issue, let us explore the opportunities that new financial and regulatory technologies may present for us to improve the effective implementation of aml / cft measures, in our respective jurisdictions and in the region. seychelles is already embracing the potential of financial technologies, and we are delighted that council of ministers has accepted our nomination to host the esaamlg workshop on digital financial services, bureau de change and money remittances, which will be held next year. ladies and gentlemen, the reason we are gathered here is to engage in serious discussions and come up with plausible solutions to the challenges we face in relation to all three topics. there are surely success stories that exist in this room which will go a long way in helping others to address their respective situations. concerns about the risks that aml / cft present to the stability of our financial systems should be addressed collectively. events like this are therefore of utmost importance