global financial crisis. equally, the adoption of a different anchor – for example the exchange rate – would be very difficult for south africa as we are a commodity exporter and therefore regularly exposed to large terms - of - trade fluctuations. the truth of the matter is this : low and stable inflation is the best contribution that monetary policy can make towards stronger and more sustainable economic growth and poverty reduction. as the saying goes : “ facts do not cease to exist because they are ignored. ” there is no better way to contribute to the socio - economic well - being of a nation than to protect the cost of living of its citizens. in his speech titled „ whip inflation now [UNK], us president gerald ford warned that inflation would „ destroy our country, our homes, our liberties, our property, and finally our national pride [UNK]. as the sarb, we remain committed to formulating and implementing monetary policy aimed at controlling inflation at low levels, in line with the independence that the constitution guarantees us, while remaining relevant to the context in which we operate. thank you. page 8 of 8

##trant. this approach is intended to better keep pace with changes in the sector, including those brought about by technological innovations. an example is the establishment of the ifwg mentioned earlier, which is a positive development in driving a coordinated and consistent approach under the twin peaks model. given this broad background and context on fintech, and with this coordinated approach in mind, i would like to turn our attention to this inaugural fintech outreach established by the ifwg. why is this outreach important? and what is the ifwg attempting to achieve through these engagements? the importance of ifwg outreach to position this outreach initiative, and to draw out its importance, allow me to synthesise the findings from three seminal reports. these reports collectively point to possible best practices related to regulators ’ efforts on fintech. the reports are : the fsb ’ s fintech issues group ( fig ) report on fintech supervisory and regulatory issues that merit authorities ’ attention ( published in june 2017 ) ; the basel committee on banking supervision ( bcbs ) report on the implications of fintech developments for banks and bank supervisors ( published in december 2017 ) ; and the fintech action plan released by the european commission in march 2018. these reports highlight five emerging practices that may influence effective fintech regulation over time. these practices may be important in fostering responsible innovation, promoting financial stability, and aligning regulators ’ efforts to achieve a more inclusive and a more competitive financial system. page 5 of 11 practice 1 : focused attention on innovation as a result of technological advancements and the active review of regulatory regimes the first best practice is for policymakers and regulators to dedicate attention to fintech innovations and be supportive of them - or at least to ensure that any barriers to fintech innovations are limited. this could be achieved through ensuring clear and appropriate regulatory regimes. the pro - innovation stance is drawn out in each of the reports. the fig report suggests that regulators should be agile whenever there is a need to respond to the fast changes in the fintech space, and they should be quick to implement or contribute towards a process of reviewing the regulatory perimeter regularly. the suggestion is to adopt an approach that is technology - agnostic or neutral, and to focus on financial service activities. in the bcbs report, it is suggested that while bank supervisors must remain focused on ensuring the safety and soundness of the banking system, they may wish to consider ways of executing their mission without unduly hampering beneficial innovations in the financial industry.