a second argument against allocating supervisory powers at the central bank concerns possible conflicts of interest between the different central bank functions. at the heart of this argumentation is the question whether the central banks ’ concern for the health of banks would jeopardize its price stability objective. it could do so for instance by creating an environment of low interest rates with the aim of supporting the banking sector ’ s health, or by using its capabilities for money creation to support individual banks. however, is it really conceivable that a central bank that is in charge of banking supervision takes these routes? to me, the solution to these concerns lies in the organizational structure of the central bank. a situation, in which the central bank puts at risk price stability in favour of financial stability, is not conceivable if the central bank is given a clear hierarchical mandate that places price stability before other concerns. internal procedures can be, and should be, designed in a way that this is efficiently implemented. of course, central banks may in crisis times be involved in lender - of - last - resort functions. but they might take on this role regardless of whether they have a supervisory mandate or not. and i should emphasize that such forms of liquidity support would in any case be very limited both in its frequency – central banks should take on this role only in case of a severe financial crisis – as well in duration. these limitations, connected with a recessionary situation, ensure that extended liquidity support would have no inflationary impact. in practice, the allocation of supervisory responsibilities is handled very differently across countries, even within the euro area. at present, a majority of euro area central banks, that is, 12 out of 17 national central banks have full supervisory powers while 2 others are also involved in supervisory tasks. around a decade ago, the situation was quite different, and there was a tendency towards separation of the two functions. the recent trend, however, points towards combining both functions under one roof. this trend reversal can be observed also outside the euro area. for instance, in the uk, the fsa was founded in the late 1990s, but recent proposals aim at re - allocating it under the umbrella of the bank of england. in the us, the fed was also given an extension of its mandate regarding supervision. indeed, the experience during the financial and sovereign debt crises has demonstrated the benefits of including banking supervision under the central bank ’ s purview. bis central bankers ’ speeches 4.

) has shown that the impact of financial education strategies depends bis central bankers ’ speeches on the ability to effectively combine broad - based and targeted strategies, and having a wellcoordinated approach that relies on multiple channels to reach different groups. financial education is also a lifelong endeavour, from encouraging children to save their pocket money to helping adults attain financial security and independence for their old age. in supporting the inclusion agenda, financial education initiatives in malaysia are designed as an important life skill, where consumers are exposed to knowledge on financial management during the different periods in their life. an increasing trend is for financial capability to be promoted from an early age through the integration of financial education into the formal school curriculum that covers basic money management, spending and savings, credit and debts, e - payments, financial risk management and consumer responsibilities. for the youth and adult segments of the population, malaysia has also adopted a life event approach to the development and delivery of financial capability programmes. this is reinforced by a dedicated focus on the vulnerable segments of the society, such as how to plan for retirement, the importance of living within one ’ s means and behaviours that can lead one into high indebtedness. these programmes are delivered to consumers in the workplace and colleges. our collaboration with employers has proven to be particularly effective in delivering financial education on responsible financial management. under this approach, strategic alliances have been forged by the credit counselling and debt management agency with more than 200 organisations in malaysia to deliver financial capability programs at the workplace. equal emphasis is given to developing the enabling infrastructure to support the effective delivery of financial capability initiatives. in malaysia, the meaningful access to financial education contents and tools, a rigorous assessment framework and an effective partnership that involves the government, educators, non - governmental organisations and the financial industry form the vital components of the enabling ecosystem to support the overall financial education strategies. in many instances, changes in consumer behaviour are needed for the intended benefits to be realised. in malaysia this is the case in the efforts to promote e - payment as a means of improving economic efficiency, productivity and competitiveness. central to this agenda has been the implementation of various financial education initiatives to encourage changes in consumer behaviour and to inspire confidence in the use of e - payments. financial education has had a critical role in equipping consumers with knowledge to utilise e - payments responsibly, and to help consumers protect themselves from risks of financial scams that exploit specific vulnerabilities associated with online payment platforms. financial