financial sector. it is widely agreed that international trade has been instrumental in boosting global growth throughout the last decades. what are the reasons for this? apart from other factors, bringing previously unbanked segments of societies into the financial system has been crucial in making global trade and, therefore, the global economy more vibrant. it is widely believed that the saturation point for boosting international trade via financial 1 / 3 bis central bankers'speeches deepening has already been reached. but i am not so sure about that. i believe that by employing technological advances wisely, we may take the process further. financial innovations may become the crucial trigger in unlocking at least some of the unused potential of global trade, bringing new life into this sector. however, as i have already mentioned, markets need additional impulse. this is where authorities may come into the picture. their role is quite clear – establishing forward - thinking regulation, which would allow innovative financial products and services maximize their potential. such developments would add to efficiency gains for societies across the globe. let us now focus on fintech. as you can see, global investment in fintech companies has surged from 9 to 25 billion usd in just few years. what makes this sector so lucrative for investors? to put it straight, it is the potential benefits. creating more competition in the financial market, fintech developments cut prices for consumers, offering them better and faster services. they also empower users, democratizing financial services and making them more inclusive. due to greater decentralization and depth of the market, the financial system becomes more resilient. new credit channels for households and smes reduce the risks of disruptions in bank credit due to economic distress. on top of this, there are obvious gains in terms of financial efficiency and productivity of capital allocation. what do we – as a central bank – do to maximize these benefits? the bank of lithuania has set a strategic goal of establishing itself not just as a watchdog, but also as a partner for the financial sector. in practice this means putting the right infrastructure in place – facilitating innovation, while ensuring system stability. we have launched a “ newcomer program ”, which works as a one - stop shop for new market entrants. we are among the pioneering central banks in establishing regulatory “ sandbox ” regime, which operates as a safe space for market participants to test their innovative ideas. from the supervisory perspective, this is a crucial instrument, as it allows building the necessary know -

a higher rise in prices for domestically produced goods and services. a tighter labour market will probably lead to higher wage growth in the coming years. there are also signs that productivity growth, which has been strong, will slow now, which must be expected when the cyclical upturn has lasted for a long period. driving forces ahead the level of activity in the world economy is high. global growth from 2004 to 2006 was the strongest recorded since the early 1970s. continued solid growth among our trading partners is in prospect, and short - term interest rates are expected to rise in sweden, denmark, the uk and the euro area. after expanding at a strong pace over several years, the us economy is now showing signs of a slowdown. nevertheless, growth in the world economy is expected to remain firm. at the same time, the risk of an impending slowdown in global growth has increased. there are considerable uncertainties associated with the effect of a possible economic slowdown in the us on the global economy. signs of slower growth in the us are emerging primarily in the housing market. historically, developments in the housing market have been closely related to the general pace of economic growth. weaker developments in the housing market are expected to influence growth through a number of channels. lower house sales will curb housing investment, which accounts for a good 5 per cent of gdp. residential construction has been important for employment in recent years. the turnover time has risen markedly and prices and housing starts have fallen. high energy prices have so far pushed up inflation among our trading partners. in the us, general cost inflation has also been rising. in other countries, energy prices have only been passed on to a limited extent to other prices so that core inflation is still moderate and stable. the fall in oil prices through the autumn may curb inflation in the period ahead. in isolation, lower energy prices might result in lower interest rates than otherwise and contribute more directly to growth in total demand in many countries. the price fall is related primarily to reduced uncertainty about the supply of oil. a number of the risk factors that pushed up oil prices this summer, such as the conflict in the middle east and reduced production in nigeria and the us, have been reduced. in addition, global oil stocks are high and opec has announced that they will reduce production, which will increase spare production capacity correspondingly. the fall in prices is also due in part to lower demand and increased supply of alternative energy sources following several years of high oil prices. in addition,