different supermarkets, and their value. 11. with the data, the banks understood chu kee ’ s latest operating conditions better and made credit decisions speedily. needless to say, before the data was used and shared, prior consent from chu kee was obtained. in the end, mr chu secured a substantial loan at a competitive interest rate, and was very pleased with the hassle - free experience. 12. now, what if i tell you that the above is based on a true story? 2 yes, during the technical exploration stage, cdi has already, in real life, helped smes in hong kong take more control of their own digital footprint, and use their own data to improve their access to financial services. importers of chilled food and sneakers, and manufacturers of phone accessories have already enjoyed the benefits of cdi firsthand. as more and more banks and data providers join cdi, we expect that an increasing number of smes will benefit from the platform. 13. for cdi to reach its full potential and successfully connect the digital islands, your active participation is crucial. cdi is definitely a team sport, and we all have a role to play as members of team hong kong. 14. the hkma, as a regulator, will facilitate a conducive environment, and we are doing that by building the infrastructure and offering guidance. to banks, we urge you to embrace fintech, and join the cdi platform. to data providers, we invite you to contribute meaningful data, such as logistics data and procurement data between buyers and suppliers, to enrich the types of data available. to sme owners, we encourage you to contact your bank and understand more about cdi. together, we can take hong kong ’ s data ecosystem to new heights, and ultimately contribute to bridging the global trade financing gap. 15. the benefits of a more digitally integrated trade finance system are plentiful, that much is certain ; and the hkma strives to help bring about an enhanced system in collaboration with different stakeholders. we look forward to working with the international chamber of commerce ( icc ) and the fung group in this regard so that the needs of the underserved segments can be better catered for. 16. before i close, i ’ d like to take this opportunity to offer you a glimpse of the hkma ’ s vision of digitalising cross - border trade. for those of you who have been following our cbdc developments

recession was shallower and shorter than the average of the past helped limit the scale and scope of losses to financial institutions. the forcefulness of the monetary policy response and the large fiscal stimulus provided by the tax cuts and expenditure increases played a significant role in limiting the depth of the downturn and in helping to bring about the recovery. it is significant that the yield curve has been steeper and stayed steep longer in this latest recession than in the previous one. and, finally, the stronger microeconomic fundamentals of the u. s. economy - the shift to just - in - time inventory management, the speed of innovation in the u. s. economy, and other factors that seem to have reduced the amplitude of the business cycle and improved the flexibility and resilience of the u. s. economy in response to shocks - have also contributed to financial stability. changes in the nature of financial intermediation have also played a role in improving the overall resilience and performance of the u. s. financial system that was evident in this latest period of economic recession and financial stress. four different types of changes are particularly important. • innovation in financial technology continues to expand the opportunities for financial institutions to separate and distribute, and to manage and hedge, different types of risk. • the increasingly greater role played by the capital markets in the financial intermediation process relative to banks - both relative to the past and compared with most other major economies - has improved the capacity of our system to handle stress. loans and securities held by commercial banks today account for less than 20 percent of overall u. s. credit market debt, roughly two - - thirds of their 1975 levels. • the increases in the sophistication of risk management techniques and enhancements to risk management processes have delivered substantial improvements in how banks and other financial institutions actually manage risk in practice. banks, for example, have aligned their pricing of credit products much more closely with credit risk. • the increased scale of cross - border financial intermediation, the growing role of securitized financial instruments in those overall flows, and the growth in the size and breadth of financial institutions with global operations may also mean that, as shocks are transmitted more rapidly, they are diffused more broadly. these are positive developments, and they are likely to be enduring. but they have come with new challenges for those of you who manage financial institutions and for those of us charged with supervision and market oversight. the overall return on these changes will depend on