now to identify areas where additional fsb recommendations are needed and where existing recommendations should be fleshed out. we have to drive this reform agenda with all our efforts. 4. conclusion : international cooperation as precondition for effective regulation ladies and gentlemen, let me conclude my remarks with something that is very important to me. any regulatory project needs international cooperation. if we do not coordinate our approaches towards regulation, we will create a fragmented financial system with vast opportunities for regulatory arbitrage. when all is said and done, we are all pursuing the same objective : a stable financial system – certainly at the national level, but it is equally important at the global level. as regulators, we therefore must work together in an effort to avoid any form of fragmentation of the regulatory space. the issue of derivatives oversight is just one example where international cooperation is essential. thank you for your attention – merci de votre attention. bis central bankers ’ speeches

digitalisation of the financial sector has been fuelled, to a large extent, by the development of highly effective, state - of - the - art technologies. thanks to broadband networks, smartphones and advances in data processing, the technical boundaries are shifting so quickly that they practically no longer exist. thoughts are now turning towards how to put that to good use. economically speaking, there are all sorts of advantages to digitalisation. with intelligent and well applied it solutions, you can automate processes and reduce variable costs. no time is wasted in processing, combining and analysing information. at the same time, today ’ s it landscape is helping us to eliminate complexity. last but not least, it enables us to tailor services to our customers ’ individual needs. another element of the driving force is the emergence of new sources of competition. gone are the days when it was just banks positioned in what surfers call the line - up, waiting to bis central bankers ’ speeches catch the best waves. in recent years, companies leading innovation in financial technology, or fintech companies, have developed a large number of it - based business models for payment transactions, credit brokerage and investment advice. generally, only a small proportion of these innovative ideas and start - ups ever actually make it off the ground. the creativity and innovation of fintech companies is nevertheless proof of the development potential to be unlocked in the banking sector. in addition to technology and competition, we must not forget that customers too are part of the driving force. in the past, people considered banking to be something that could only be done in person. nowadays, encouraged by how information technology has improved other areas of their lives, bank customers are becoming increasingly open to – and sometimes even request – new technological solutions for doing their banking. as i ’ ve already said, many people now take online banking for granted, and it is becoming ever more widely accepted, owing to innovative concepts such as online video consultation services, digital credit brokerage and the incorporation of social media into banking. there is no doubt about it, the digitalisation of the financial sector has clearly taken a huge leap forward and there ’ s no going back. but what will the sector move on to next? suggestions extend to “ banking without banks ”, that is to say, creating an efficient financial sector without banks. sometimes the media even pitch banks against their “ digital ” competitors in a battle to survive. but of course we still need banks – don ’ t let anyone persuade you