in the united kingdom, that brings together responsible finance experts from around the world and has a unique role for this endeavour. the focus on collaboration and convergence between the diverse fields of ethical and responsible finance has great potential to harness the best practices of positive finance in its various forms to collectively wield a powerful force in shaping future finance. moving forward, stable and sustainable development can be best served by re - connecting the current gulf between finance and value creation that is reinforced by bringing benefit to society. with the financial reforms by the international community now much in place, the imperative for future finance is not only by becoming stable and resilient but also becoming a deep anchor to its bedrock, the real economy and generating a positive benefit to the greater society. with that, allow me to wish you an engaging and productive forum. thank you. bis central bankers ’ speeches

in mitigating risks. this includes putting in place a conducive regulatory environment in terms of the laws and regulations that protect consumers and undertaking surveillance and supervision to ensure the responsible behaviour by financial institutions. the international community is giving greater attention to consumer protection issues given the potential for high charges for such financial services and for borrowers to become over - indebted. while most countries have leveraged on the existing legal or regulatory frameworks developed for consumer protection in general, there is a need to recognise the limitations of such general frameworks in addressing consumer protection in the context of promoting a more inclusive financial system. a consumer protection regime that relies on full disclosures may mean very little to consumers that have neither the capacity to understand the disclosures, nor the ability to exercise the appropriate choice between the products being offered. existing consumer protection frameworks may need to be adapted to address the specific needs of the more vulnerable groups. finally, the development of a financial education programme is vital to enhance financial capability for consumers to participate effectively in the financial system that is dynamic and fast evolving. we are now in an environment that is seeing the proliferation of financial products and services and the emergence of electronic finance. greater financial literacy will also ensure that the financial industry will be responsive to the more discerning demands. being ill equipped or having a lack of understanding of the nature of the products could increase vulnerability to misselling by financial institutions or to fraud and scams. proficiency in financial knowledge will contribute towards greater empowerment and competent financial decisions. studies have shown that financial education that is made available at an early age, in the school education system, will strengthen this potential and enhance the greater financial inclusion. in malaysia, the commitment to the financial inclusion agenda is legislated under the new central bank of malaysia act 2009 which provides as one of our primary functions – to promote the development of a sound, progressive and inclusive financial system. malaysia ’ s financial inclusion agenda has been developed in concert with the development of the overall financial sector and encompasses the five broad strategies. our blueprint for the development of the financial sector for the next decade will give special focus on financial inclusion and consumer protection. in the previous decade, the focus was bis central bankers ’ speeches to enhance the access to financing, financial education and putting in place the supporting institutional arrangements to enhance financial inclusion. while these efforts will be intensified further in this next decade, greater leverage will be made on technology and on new institutional arrangements to extend the outreach to the