of capital that banks must hold was increased by about five times. the largest, most complex firms were obliged to hold even more. the quality of capital that banks must hold was also increased with new standards established for bank liquidity and funding. see bank for international settlements. 5 committee on the global financial system, “ market - making and proprietary trading : industry trends, drivers and policy implications, ” cgfs papers no. 52 ( november 2014 ). 6 bank of canada staff are active participants in the financial stability board and its standing committee on assessment of vulnerabilities, the bank for international settlements committee on the global financial system and its markets committee, as well as the recently formed global foreign exchange committee. 7 see financial system review, june 2014. 8 see carolyn a. wilkins, “ canadian economic update : strength in diversity ” ( speech to the associates of the asper school of business, winnipeg, manitoba, 12 june 2017 ) and cbc radio interview the governor stephen s. poloz, 13 june 2017. 9 canadian fixed - income forum page on the bank ’ s website. 10 see the canadian fixed - income forum survey results. 11 canadian fixed - income forum, “ high - frequency trading in the government of canada bond futures market. ” 12 the uninsured mortgage market is now worth more than $ 650 billion. see box 2, bank of canada financial system review, june 2017. 13 market features that could mitigate those vulnerabilities include standardization of the underlying collateral and transaction structure, meaningful disclosure requirements and risk retention. see box 3, bank of canada 6 / 7 bis central bankers'speeches financial system review, june 2017. 7 / 7 bis central bankers'speeches

these disincentives, along with recent low long - term interest rates, have led to increased solvency deficits among many defined - benefit plans. an update on the state of funding of db pension plans is included in the current fsr. 5 to address some of the problems facing db plans, the federal and quebec governments have introduced steps designed to help plan sponsors meet the solvency funding test by obtaining letters of credit. other jurisdictions are also looking into these issues, including the ontario government, which has just launched an expert commission to review pension laws. the measures taken by the federal and quebec governments will bring significant relief to some db plans. but these are partial measures, and they do not address the fundamental disincentives faced by organizations sponsoring db plans. it is important to get these incentives right, so that db pension plans, which have a long - term investment perspective, can continue to grow. this long - term perspective fits well with canada's need to finance the major investments in infrastructure that are essential for future economic growth. this match, between the need for investment in infrastructure and the need for pension funds to find long - term assets, seems perfectly suited to the private - public partnership model, or p3. but this match can't be made if governments do not have an appropriate framework for using p3s when looking at infrastructure improvements. there are still relatively few p3s in canada, compared with countries that have a well - developed framework for p3 investments. in the june issue of our fsr, we looked at some of the constraints on the use of p3s in canada. 6 in summary, if capital markets are to make their maximum contribution to growth and provide financing for needed infrastructure, then action is essential both to reduce the disincentives for pension plan sponsors and to improve the framework governing private investment in public infrastructure. j. armstrong. " an update on the funding status of defined - benefit pension plans in canada. " financial system review. ( december 2006 ), p. 43. e. woodman. " the market for financing of infrastructure projects through public - private partnerships : canadian developments. " financial system review. ( june 2006 ), p. 35. efficiency in fixed - income markets finally, let me turn to developments specific to canada's fixed - income markets. there has been progress in improving the efficiency of canada's fixed - income markets, much of which stems from the decision taken by the federal government in