place to help borrowers affected by income shocks caused by the pandemic and that lenders continue to seek to sustainably resolve borrowers ’ longer term distress. we have made our expectations clear on how borrowers should be treated and how lenders should engage constructively with distressed borrowers to ensure appropriate and tailored solutions to the borrower ’ s circumstance are put in place. we expect all lenders to have appropriate strategies, the necessary financial and operational resources, and a suite of appropriate sustainable solutions to resolve distressed debt, whether it arose before or as a result of the pandemic. we are also continuing to engage with a range of stakeholders on this issue and have been listening closely to borrower representatives such that our work continues 1 / 3 bis central bankers'speeches to evolve. culture the culture of firms is important in delivering our aspiration of a financial system that sustainably serves the needs of the economy and its consumers. the failures of the last decade or so, notably relating to the tracker mortgage scandal, demonstrate this importance and also highlight that more progress is required. we expect to see boards taking responsibility for the culture of their firms ; overseeing product development and usage ; actively promoting diversity and inclusion at all levels to improve decision - making ; and ensuring robust internal systems are in place to drive effective cultures, including well developed risk management frameworks. where this does not occur, we will take appropriate supervisory action and where serious or egregious breaches occur we take enforcement action. we are also seeking to strengthen the regulatory framework. we are currently working with the department of finance to progress the individual accountability framework. this seeks, among other things, to enhance the accountability of senior individuals in banks. resilience for the consumer and the taxpayer, safeguarding financial stability is one of the most important ways in which the central bank works to protect their interests – including in seeking to ensure that the banking system operates in a safe, sound and sustainable way. banks need to be in a position to absorb shocks, and have the ability to build buffers to withstand future shocks, so they can serve the economy and consumers over the long term. the irish banking system entered this crisis with substantial buffers of loss - absorbing capital, and considerably more robust business models, less risky loan books and better operational resilience than compared with the situation before the global financial crisis. this ensured that they have been better able to continue to support their customers and the real economy through the pandemic. changing

financial services market, financial institutions are increasingly acknowledging the need for new perspectives and paradigms in financial services. 26. one more onslaught on banks existence is the net effect of regulatory requirements on capital and leverage and market and public expectations on their capability to leverage their capital. banks by definition, as we know of all these days, are the highly levered institutions. however, if we go by these factors about which just now i mentioned – viz., regulatory capital, market and public expectations – we should be dropping the definition of banks being ‘ highly levered ’ institutions. if we add the capital requirement as per tlac prescriptions, bankers ’ usual cautionary additional capital, yet another add on as per the public expectation as a fallout of stress test assessments, i am afraid, we will end up banks having a debt equity ratio of about 4 : 1, which is not too different from highly levered corporates. that ’ s one of the reasons why we are very cautious and hesitant about supporting tlac whole hog. bis central bankers ’ speeches 27. therefore, the clear prognosis is that either the banks will be dead or at least the banks of the future are not going to be the banks of yesterdays and todays. what to do? 28. i regret that at the very end of these two days deliberations on future of banks, i have to paint such a dismal future for your existence as banks. my point is we have to recognize the realities of the day, the compulsions of the new driving forces that demand a new paradigm in banking and reflect on future course of action. 29. there are hopes. first is to take full advantage of the technological developments and enmesh in them to meet the customer expectations. the new consumer is addicted to connectivity, convenience and freedom. they want not just value added services, but such services anytime anywhere anyhow – so nicely said by derrydean dadzie the chief doer of dreamoval ltd. 30. another prescription by some like hennie bester, jeremy gray and david saunders suggests that while banks may have the urgent need to identify new avenues for growth and the need to embrace new information - based technologies, what is of paramount importance is a positive shift towards increased recognition of the social responsibility of the financial services providers. they argue that, ultimately, balancing profitability with customer benefit must remain at the heart of any new paradigm. 31. can you hear some ringing in the bell