centralised in one particular database. that way we know at any point in time, the detail exposures of any companies and individuals. the other important point to note is that we did not narrow the application of measures to specific geographical locations and house type or price in order to avoid circumvention or abuse as developers and lenders can easily build or finance houses at the edge of a restricted zone or price range, or even create a new house type ( e. g. small office home office ( soho ) ). in this case, we need to conduct a bit more research before we implement any macroprudential policies. the caps on financing tenure, together with requirements to comply with responsible financing practices ( including adoption of prudent debt service ratio ( dsr ) threshold and bis central bankers ’ speeches definition of income and debt obligations for computation of dsr ), were not limited only to banks. the caps were also imposed on non - regulated entities in order to avoid regulatory arbitrage or shifting of risks to these non - bank lenders. third, preserving appropriate discretion for authorities to act is important, with respect to the timing, mix and calibration of measures. we do not adopt a rule - based approach to the implementation of macroprudential measures. the reason is that, it can avoid a “ self - fulfilling prophecy ” if the formula for determining the timing, quantum and criteria for the deployment of macroprudential policies are made public or applied in mechanistic way – unintended consequences could arise or systemic risk could suddenly build up right before the effective date as economic agents try to “ beat the clock ” by getting ahead of the implementation. this approach provides us with greater flexibility to use an optimal mix of macroprudential and other measures under varying circumstances – this is different from the uk where legal constraints limit the choice of macroprudential instruments that can be used, or compared to turkey which uses quantitative triggers for the new reserve requirement framework. however, discretion needs to be accompanied with political willingness to act when required – this has to be demonstrated over time and supported by a matured, effective governance and accountability framework. in malaysia, we ensured that the key administrators in the government fully understand the objective of the macroprudential measures to keep the household indebtedness and the housing speculation in check, prior to the implementation. fourth, pre - emptive implementation is key to create space for measures to be implemented progressively and inc

as a policy priority will be passed down to the future generations of central bankers. it would help if there is a clear mandate and accountability so that resources can be allocated and mobilised. bis central bankers ’ speeches setting a national target has shown to galvanise real tangible policy changes on the ground. during the global policy forum in kuala lumpur last year, the 121 members of afi have adopted the sasana accord to set quantifiable and measurable financial inclusion indicators as national targets. it is also encouraging to know that 28 oic members have direct membership in afi, while 4 others are indirectly affiliated through regional central banks. further, financial inclusion solutions typically involve cross - disciplinary collaboration. policymakers could consider a national coordination mechanism, for example, in the case of tanzania and mexico to effectively identify policy priorities and allocate the right resources in implementing the policies. third, data and technology are key enablers of innovative policy solutions robust data collection and gap analysis help policymakers to connect with realities on the ground and identify real needs for intervention. data also facilitates monitoring and impact assessment to determine if a particular policy is achieving its intended outcome. technology plays a critical role as it provides low cost, scalable channels to deliver financial inclusion solutions. it is particularly effective in overcoming geographical barriers to financial inclusion. the malaysia ’ s experience in agent banking shows how data and technology enable innovative policy solutions. it also helps to make an informed decision on resource allocation. in 2011, the bank conducted the financial inclusion demand side survey to complement supply side data collected from financial institutions. data highlighted that there was a lack in the provision of access points, as only 46 % of 837 sub - districts with a population of more than 2, 000 have at least one financial access point. the cost of building brick - and - mortar branches to outreach to rural users is high. hence, the bank developed the agent banking initiative to leverage on technology and deliver financial services to the rural groups in a low cost and scalable manner. it saves cost and the impact is enormous. under the agent banking initiative, licensed financial institutions provide financial services to customers through third - party agents, such as retail outlets and post offices. agents perform banking transactions such as deposit and withdrawal of funds in a safe manner using real time terminal technology i. e. point - of - sale ( pos ). putting in place a mechanism to monitor performance is crucial to determine whether policy initiatives are effective. just to give a flavour of what we have