arrangements, practices and business models of their institutions are effective and impactful. islamic finance can lead in financial inclusion and governance today, islamic finance has already established itself and garnered significance in many parts of the world. though much of this appeared as a natural outgrowth of growing prosperity in many muslim countries, it did require governmental support and regulatory pushes. in malaysia, where the modern form of islamic finance has developed for over 40 years, the national strategy to develop islamic banking and finance was driven from two perspectives, as an initial strategy for financial inclusion and to later on position the country as a leader in islamic finance. in financial inclusion, islamic finance played an important role in bringing those who exclude themselves from the conventional system on religious grounds. demographically, muslim households make up the majority in our country, including that of the b40 income category. there is a natural affinity to subscribe to islamic finance. nevertheless, outreach beyond the urban areas always requires additional effort. now, with the help of technology, islamic finance is playing a greater role in expanding outreach of financial services and increasing financial inclusion. digitally - enabled financial services are resulting in greater access, quality and usage of financial services. islamic banking and takaful customers are able to equally benefit from online and mobile banking services, and enjoy seamless business transactions through digital platforms for supply chain finance. digitisation of islamic products and instruments has even contributed in specific initiatives of enhancing financial inclusion, such as the online application of takaful products that offer affordable and easy to understand protection plans with a convenient claims process. the islamic banking industry ’ s recent launch of the mywakaf portal is another such initiative to enable easier and more effective wakaf contributions by individuals to selected projects such as education, healthcare, investment and economic empowerment. in our leadership aspiration in islamic finance, key areas that were and are emphasised are in governance and ethics. strong corporate governance and leadership are crucial to uphold shariah values and raise the impact of islamic finance to the economy and society. a robust shariah governance framework within islamic financial institutions is a must to ensure that shariah values are internalised and upheld in business practices. the islamic financial services act 2013 accords due recognition to the importance of governance structure within islamic financial institutions. in practice, shariah compliance is supported in malaysia under a two - tier governance structure that operates at the industry and institutional levels. this comprises the shariah advisory council of bank negara malaysia as the highest

james mcandrews : challenges and rewards associated with data in the new york fed remarks by mr james mcandrews, executive vice president and director of research of the federal reserve bank of new york, at the fifth data management strategies and technologies workshop, federal reserve bank of new york, new york city, 4 february 2014. * * * introduction welcome to the federal reserve bank of new york. we are fortunate to have many central bankers and international nongovernment organizations represented here today. because we are part of the federal reserve system, the central bank of the united states, we share many of the same data obstacles you are currently facing. as the head of research and statistics at the new york fed, i ’ d like to share with you the challenges and rewards associated with data in our organization, particularly the data that we use to analyze policy questions. the new york fed is uniquely positioned for several reasons. in addition to being the largest of the twelve federal reserve banks, it has the distinction of including a markets group that conducts open market operations for the federal reserve system. additionally, the new york fed supervises financial institutions, including foreign banks doing business in our district. these special responsibilities contribute to our tremendous reliance on data. data is crucial to our core objectives and all aspects of our work. data is the foundation for developing international standards in bank capital and liquidity requirements. data is an integral part of researching economic issues and the labor and financial markets. data is also central to our jobs of forecasting and identifying trends. our understanding of interest rates, reserves, and balance sheets is built on data. in our efforts to promote financial stability, data is fundamental to stress testing. in our financial services efforts, payment information and data flows figure critically in our payment systems. the scope of our data consumption and creation spans a wide range. it encompasses local, regional, national, and global coverage and extends from the micro to the most broadly aggregated levels. consequently, as an organization we are increasingly dealing with a growing number of data challenges. they include the multitude of legal topics associated with contractual terms and conditions of data use, data sharing, and privacy restrictions. we are constantly challenged to develop and maintain clear and comprehensive data dictionaries that enable us to repurpose data appropriately. moreover, as we continue to create more data, we are focusing on data governance. this entails oversight and measures to ensure that our own data are accurately posted ( with updated revisions and associated documentation