that lie ahead, we must not let our guard down. banks must not be lulled into a false sense of security by the external environment ’ s bullishness and resilience to shocks so far. we must not allow ourselves to get over - confident with our knowledge and analyses of the risks out there. risks may deviate from expectations. situations may take unexpected turns. in the face of such uncertainties, being prepared and ready is always a good proposition. reputation risk and fair dealing with consumers moving on from macroeconomic and financial risks to something closer to home, there is another risk which banks should remain mindful of. unlike the other risks i had raised earlier, this is a risk which is fully within your bank ’ s domain. this is reputation risk. you all appreciate the value of a good reputation in doing business. a good reputation takes years to build. it can also be damaged within a short period of time through incidents that undermine consumer confidence and that are not managed properly. you have read the newspaper articles in recent months concerning public unhappiness and questions about the transparency and fairness of practices concerning multiple home loan board rates and promotional fixed deposit rates. you might have asked yourself why these issues should concern you as they may not pose any significant impact on the financial standings of your banks. while of limited short term bottom - line impact, these issues can affect the longer term reputation of and consumer confidence in your banks. the internet has empowered consumers with unprecedented reach. a disgruntled customer can post his or her unhappiness on a forum or blog and quickly reach a wide audience. it has become more important for banks to incorporate good and fair consumer outcomes as integral parts of the way they do business. banks should pay attention to consumer feedback for early warnings of potentially larger issues and proactively take steps to address emerging customer concerns early. the abs code of consumer banking practice is premised on four key principles – fairness, transparency, accountability and reliability. these principles are a good foundation for building a trusting and open relationship between customers and their banks. as members of abs, we encourage you to uphold and observe these principles. you are best placed to raise standards through market discipline, industry codes and guidelines. together, abs and banks can do more in monitoring consumer feedback on industry practices and taking steps to manage consumers'concerns at an earlier stage before they become broader public issues. for example, abs could initiate measures to identify emerging issues, conduct research to better understand

consumers'concerns and work with member banks to address them. individual banks could also do more by reviewing their customers ’ feedback, sharing their observations on concerns regarding industry practices and working with abs to manage these issues. mas will continue to share with the industry our observations from feedback received from members of the public. we will also continue to work with the industry to encourage best practices by banks, with the aim of achieving good consumer outcomes. this more collaborative and consultative approach, we believe, is more desirable than formal and often more prescriptive regulation. conclusion the singapore financial services sector looks set for another year of good growth. however, as we look forward to the opportunities before us, we must be aware of the risks that lie ahead. as benign as the environment may seem, banks must not become complacent. banks should be prepared for whatever surprises lie ahead. at the same time, banks must also safeguard their reputations. more can be done and we look forward to seeing abs working with industry in bringing about good and fair consumer outcomes. on this note, let me wish everyone a good year ahead and a pleasant evening. thank you.