, as a consequence, those facing the financial system as a whole. as we all know only too well, heightened concern over counterparty risks led to severe dysfunction in financial markets, particularly after the collapse of lehman brothers and the bailout of aig in september 2008. the problems surfaced most acutely in the united states. thus we have observed the bold attempts at regulatory overhaul in the u. s., of which the so - called volcker rule has become something of an icon. in my understanding, the volcker rule is designed to deter banks from taking excessive risk in capital markets, where volatility is inherently high and in which bankers do not necessarily have informational advantage in predicting market developments. rather, the volcker rule urges banks to return to their traditional stronghold of commercial banking business, in which they can utilize their informational advantage based on long - term relationships with their customers. in other words, the rule attempts to insulate long - horizon relationship banking from the occasional brutality of the sometime short - horizon capital markets. in this way, we can prevent the possible misuse of public assistance given to banks. the rationale for the volcker rule could be applied to liquidity risk management as well. that is, commercial banks should not rely too much on fickle wholesale funding, but should focus more on stable deposits based on long - term relationships with their customers. asian perspectives of heterogeneity : don ’ t put carnivorous lions and herbivorous elephants in the same cage here i cannot help feeling that this rule is quite congenial to the traditional japanese, and probably asian, view of what banks are. in japan, loans constitute roughly half of corporate debt financing, and deposits roughly three quarters of banks ’ balance sheets. long - term relationships are the rule, not the exception. i believe this dominant role of the banking sector in the financial system is more or less similar in the rest of asia as well. it is no coincidence that financial systems in the asia region have remained relatively stable during the current crisis : we have not suffered a serious deterioration in confidence or market dysfunction, since our banks have largely remained as traditional banks, and shadow banking had at most a limited presence. in order to prevent another global financial crisis of this magnitude, we truly need a thorough and internationally harmonized overhaul of financial regulations, as is currently being undertaken by various international regulatory bodies. however, as mentioned before, proper consideration must be given to the regional heterogeneit

fund ( uncdf ) are also actively developing financial inclusion knowledge, and supporting countries in implementing financial inclusion strategies globally. over the years, we have since witnessed the rapid deployment of innovative financial inclusion solutions that have changed the lives of many. since the introduction of the mpesa mobile banking service in kenya, the number of adults with access to financial services has increased from 42 % in 2011 to 75 % today. agent banking in malaysia has provided consumers with an innovative and alternative channel to access financial services, resulting in the percentage of sub - districts served by financial services access point to increase from 46 % in 2011 to 96 % in 2014. this has enabled 99 % of malaysians, particularly those in rural areas, to conveniently access and benefit from financial services. the microfinance “ global financial development report 2014 ”, world bank, 2014. discussion note “ redistribution, inequality, and growth ”, imf, 2014. bis central bankers ’ speeches institution grameen bank in bangladesh has extended credit through its 2, 500 branches to almost 8 million people, with 60 % of them lifted from poverty. the loan recovery rate is higher than 98 percent. the experience in bangladesh, in particular, dispels the myth that the poor is not bankable. of proportionate regulation and the global standards the proportionate application of global standards for financial regulation is a critical factor in enabling innovative financial inclusion solutions, ensuring its delivery in a safe and sound manner. my remarks today will touch on the following topics : recent developments in global standards and financial inclusion ; focus areas to advance proportionality in practice ; and the importance of the global symposium to galvanise action. recent developments in global standards and financial inclusion global standards developed after the global financial crisis were designed to address the financial stability and integrity issues that came to the fore in developed countries. many of these issues involved the activities of global systemically important financial institutions. the effects of these standards on financial inclusion, such as the impact on smaller financial institutions in developing countries most likely were not taken into consideration. fortunately, standard - setting bodies have now recognised the principle of proportionality, emphasising on the balance between objectives of financial stability, integrity and inclusion. however, the real challenge lies in implementing proportionality in practice. if principles are not implemented in a proportionate manner, there could be unintended consequences for financial inclusion. for example, despite the financial action task force ’ s guidance on the implementation of a risk - based approach to anti money laundering /