temptation should be resisted at all costs. let me assure you that the bank of thailand, as prudential supervisor of banks, will remain vigilant to ensure that similar problems will not happen here. the third challenge is managing security risks associated with the use of new technology. advances in it and communications technology have enabled banks to provide faster, cheaper, and safer electronic banking services to an increasingly larger group of customers. however, proliferation of internet banking, mobile banking, and e - payment also increases the risks of it fraud, network security breach, and identity theft, etc. if these risks are not properly managed, they could have severe financial and reputational consequences for the banks. in this regard, i urge banks to pay close attention to the best - practice guidance on it and e - banking security risk management that we issued some time ago. ladies and gentlemen, i would like to conclude by saying that the bank of thailand fully welcomes and supports healthy competition that will lead to efficiency and sustainable growth in the retail banking industry, which will certainly benefit the consumers at large. our challenge as supervisor is to provide an appropriately balanced prudential framework that, on the one hand, fosters sound risk management practices on the part of both service providers and consumers, and on the other hand, does not stifle competition and innovation in the industry. and as the central bank, we will continue to be vigilant on any incipient financial imbalances, and take timely action to deal with them should they become potential threats to financial stability and the broader macro - economy. thank you very much for your attention. i wish the convention every success and that you all have fruitful discussions over the next two days.

ability to deal with cases that might warrant corporate restructuring and change of management. · second, to introduce a scheme of credit guarantees which would provide a facility of risksharing between corporate borrowers, the government, and banks based on market mechanism. · third, to work with the management of the state banks and commercial banks to facilitate their resumption of lending without compromising the banks ’ own risk management and the bank of thailand ’ s own supervisory standards. on our part, the bank of thailand has improved the credit information system through fostering the establishment of credit bureaus, which provide the much - needed infrastructure for the resumption of new credit. meanwhile, we will continue to adhere to the best practices in prudential standards, and look to further improving the standards. let me now turn to the third challenge : rebuilding our financial architecture. this is an area that the bank of thailand takes leadership role to strengthen the soundness and efficiency of the financial institutions. our leadership must lead to outcome which makes practical sense, measures up to international best practices, and must be market - oriented and suitable to thailand. so far, we have laid down necessary groundwork to tackle short - term difficulties, such as the persisting non - performing loan problems, the lack of credit growth, or the restoration of financial sector soundness. long - term prosperity however requires more. it requires a new financial architecture and corresponding market infrastructures to foster competition and efficiency while ensuring a nonrecurrence of past problems. specifically, in the world where financial innovations, economic integration, and technological advancements bring nations and markets closer and define a new paradigm for competition for financial service industries, the rebuilding of our financial architecture becomes vital for our long - term successes, if not survival. given such a challenge, which direction are we heading? · going forward, we must improve our financial architecture to raise efficiency and ensure nationwide access to financial services. · in term of market competition, the opening up of our banking system has accelerated the transfer of technical knowledge and ensured competition for our domestic financial institutions. · in term of market structure, the new financial institutions bill – currently at the senate and is expected to be passed in the course of this year – will provide a legal and formal framework that accommodates the establishment of financial conglomerates. financial institutions will be allowed to offer varieties of financial services such as insurance or securities through their subsidiaries. though this is still a step away from universal banking model where all financial services will