aspects, will be able to open up a series of medium to longer term opportunities to export to other countries. as such, securing a suitable financial solution to upgrade and upscale production to meet the demand and requirements, would be an important prerequisite for businesses. recognising these key success factors, recent announcement by government to introduce the halal industry strategic development programme, or ‘ be - halal ’ — under the national halal council secretariat to drive the growth of the halal industry is timely. under “ be - halal ”, participants will be developed further through programmes run by experts in various fields to enable them to be more innovative and progressive as they face various global challenges and ultimately contribute to the nation ’ s halal industry. islamic finance has become part of the mainstream with offerings of competitive financial solutions malaysia has an islamic financial system that operates alongside the conventional system. our unique experience with a dual financial system has been effective on many fronts – effective in 1 / 3 bis central bankers'speeches bringing segments of the society to access the services of the formal financial system ; effective in enabling and facilitating businesses, especially the small and medium - sized entrepreneurs, to expand their businesses ; and effective in steering development of the country. we have a comprehensive islamic financial system comprising the core components of banking, takaful and capital markets. the islamic finance system have matured and are as competitive with the conventional system, thus providing better choices and options. a robust financial infrastructure is also in place to support development of this system, alongside a responsive regulatory and supervisory framework whilst achieving the high standards of best practice in corporate governance and in financial transparency and disclosure. the islamic financial system consistently reinforces its position as a viable and effective means of intermediation that contributes to the overall economic development. today, islamic banking accounts for 33 percent of malaysia ’ s total banking assets while takaful market share stands at 11 percent for family takaful and 10. 1 percent for general takaful. the islamic financial system continues to grow – at a pace faster than the conventional system. as at end - june 2019, financing outstanding of islamic banks expanded at 8. 6 percent compared to 2. 1 percent for the conventional. meanwhile, new general takaful contributions grew at 16. 4 percent compared to 6. 2 percent for the insurance premium. however, new family takaful contributions grew at 10 percent, slightly lower to life insurance premium of 15. 4 percent. this brings me to the point

elizabeth a duke : stabilizing the housing market – next steps speech by ms elizabeth a duke, member of the board of governors of the us federal reserve system, at the global association of risk professionals ’ risk management convention, new york, 11 february 2009. the original speech, which contains various links to the documents mentioned, can be found on the us federal reserve system ’ s website. * * * in the summer of 2007, the u. s. and global economies entered a period of unprecedented financial turmoil, which has since led to a significant slump in macroeconomic activity. problems in both the housing sector and the housing finance sector played a central role in precipitating the crisis, and ongoing weakness in housing activity, along with persistent strains in mortgage markets, continue to inhibit a broader recovery. in particular, we have entered a cycle where high levels of default on mortgage debt have led to a reduction in the availability of mortgage debt as well as a tightening of terms for it. this situation has led to lower levels of home sales and prices paid for homes, which, in turn, contributes to yet more defaults by borrowers. as financial risk managers, i am sure you are aware of the important steps that have already been taken to try to break this cycle, but that you also recognize the need to do more. my remarks today will focus on the next steps – efforts to increase demand for homes, efforts aimed at further reducing preventable foreclosures, and efforts aimed at limiting the costs imposed on households and communities by foreclosures that cannot be avoided. both the government and the private sector have important roles in these efforts. these suggestions and recommendations are my opinion alone and do not reflect the views of other members of the federal reserve board or any other government entity. the current weakness in housing markets housing activity remains extraordinarily weak. sales of new and existing homes have been running at a pace that is 60 percent of that seen at the peak in 2005. single - family housing starts are now less than one - quarter of their peak level. with the cutbacks in construction, inventories of unsold new homes have declined, but the months'supply – that is, inventories relative to sales – is still very high by historical standards. the inventory of existing homes for sale is also quite elevated – and it would be even higher if not for would - be sellers that have withheld or withdrawn their homes from the market amid poor selling conditions. we