otherwise, the post - trade sector does not always have a reputation as being the most forward - thinking when it comes to reform. in a speech in november 1996, the bank ’ s then - governor said the following : “ for many years, payments and settlements risk was largely disregarded as an administrative matter for the “ back office ”. perhaps not surprisingly, as the numbers have grown there has … been a growing awareness – among both commercial and central bankers – of its crucial importance, so that it has moved up the agenda, from the back office to the board room. ” i am not sure those issues have been neglected quite as badly in recent years as they were then – but, given the changes afoot, we are i believe entering another period where central banks and market participants will again need to show real ambition, and work closely together to harness the potential benefits of another wave of innovation in ways that maintain stability for all. thank you. see http : / / www. bankofengland. co. uk / banknotes / pages / digitalcurrencies / default. aspx and http : / / www. bankof england. co. uk / research / pages / onebank / cbdc. aspx. http : / / www. bankofengland. co. uk / pages / fintech / default. aspx. bis central bankers ’ speeches

society ; and his reason for shaving off his bushy moustache in 1994 not the pressures of the project but his wife ’ s ( firmly stated ) wishes! according to the ft, a computer manager at one of the big four banks described taurus as “ like building a car that had air conditioning, a fancy stereo and electric windows … we should have built a straightforward production car first, then added the bits on later. ” expectations of automotive technology have clearly moved on since the 1990s. bis central bankers ’ speeches • we have remained close to the stakeholders in rtgs throughout the first phase of the project, holding meetings with over 100 users ( old and new ), infrastructure providers, policymakers, academics and technologists, consulting on a vision for the next generation of the service, and confirming that the new system will be paid for by the users of the system through the future rtgs tariff ( through which we also gather current running costs ). • and we have stayed true to the principles of “ simple, focused and open ”, conducting the review using a small, dedicated, multi - disciplinary team of policy and technology experts. the consultation paper sets out our proposals in detail, which affect everyone with a stake in sterling payments and settlement. with that in mind, i hope that as many of your firms as possible will respond to the questions in that document by the deadline of 7 november. what next for securities infrastructure? impressive though the achievement of building crest was, it is a sad fact that the persistent delays that pre - dated the project meant the uk came late to the party. today, as the industry again faces enormous pressures for change, it is important that it responds more proactively than it did in those pre - crest days, avoiding the twin perils of complacency or over - ambition, embracing innovation to deliver a service to users that is both more efficient and more resilient than ever before. the case for reform is easy to state. although most countries now have well - functioning modern central securities depositories, the structures below this top layer for providing posttrade services in securities markets remain in many cases extraordinarily complex and balkanised. multiple tiers of custodians and sub - custodians, issuing agents, correspondent banks, clearing members, registrars and brokers – many operating on a solely national basis – provide an overlapping web of services to separate pools of market participants, using different operating procedures, systems and databases