thb / cny bilateral swap agreement in place since 2011 with a chinese bank serving as the clearing bank for renminbi in thailand since 2015. additionally, the bank of thailand has worked with several central banks in the region to relax relevant foreign exchange regulations with a view to promoting the use of regional currency. our local currency framework with malaysia became operational in 2016. discussions with cambodia, laos, and indonesia are underway. thus far, asean countries have undertaken a number of initiatives to upgrade our financial infrastructure, but most of these initiatives are aimed for domestic usage. much work remains to enhance closer financial connectivity at the regional level. allow me to propose three key areas to strengthen our regional financial connectivity. the intended outcomes of these initiatives are to raise productivity, build immunity, and increase financial inclusivity for sustained benefits. first, we need to embrace innovative financial technology to raise productivity. the rapid pace of technological innovations has changed how we trade and how financial transactions are conducted. alipay and wechat pay have demonstrated the power of modern payment services in china. in vietnam, consumers use onepay to make financial transactions. wing in cambodia, bcel in laos and wave money in myanmar provide instant payments and money transfers through mobile phones to those without bank accounts. last but not least, thailand ’ s promptpay provides consumers with one of the most efficient fund transfer services in the region, using mobile phone or citizen id numbers as a proxy for bank account numbers. the bank of thailand also set up a “ regulatory sandbox ” framework to support development of financial innovations. this framework allows innovators to test their products, and regulators to develop necessary regulatory requirements before innovative products are launched to the public. nevertheless, embracing financial technology at the domestic level is not enough. we need to create linkages among domestic payment platforms and innovative financial products to facilitate cross - border financial activities. thailand has been active in enhancing inter - platform linkages. on a bilateral level, thai banks and fintech firms are developing cross - currency remittance services based on blockchain technology. at the regional level, thailand ’ s national interbank payment system has recently been selected to be the hub of the asian payment network ( apn ). ladies and gentlemen, as we all know, fintech comes with new risks. cyber threats, in recent years, have increased dramatically in frequency, sophistication and impacts. this leads to my second area of cooperation. afca members may wish to cooperate

through the transfer or sale of banks ’ nonperforming assets to fist corporations, special purpose vehicles and eligible individuals. the stable outlook of the banking system is echoed by the banking industry, based on the results of the banking sector outlook survey. in sum, we are optimistic that the philippine financial system is capable of withstanding the risks and challenges of the covid - 19 pandemic. yet, as considerable economic uncertainty remains, the bsp continues to monitor relevant risks and vulnerabilities arising from banks ’ activities through enhanced surveillance mechanism. the philippines has already made significant strides in adopting the basel reform package. the pace and sequencing of the reforms have taken into account local market conditions, as well as the risk profiles of banks by applying the principle of proportionality. the basel reform agenda has reinforced local processes by enjoining banks to increase their 2 / 6 bis central bankers'speeches holdings of core equity capital and to favor more stable sources of funding. domestic banks likewise recognize the benefits of the basel reforms as they become more risksensitive, prudent in managing their risk - taking activities, and improved their governance and internal controls. currently, regional forums in asean such as the executives ’ meeting of east asia pacific central banks working group on banking supervision serve as venue to discuss the progress of adoption of the basel iii standards and covid - 19 developments and the related policy responses. recently, the policy direction of standard - setting bodies is geared towards supporting the covid - 19 responses of national authorities. in fact, the basel committee on banking supervision or the bcbs has officially announced the deferral of the implementation date of basel standards by one year to 1 january 2023. such deferral provided both banks and regulators with some space and flexibility to devote their available resources for essential operations in responding to the impact of the global pandemic. with regard to the implementation of basel standards in the philippines during the pandemic, the bsp has given leeway to covered banks and quasi - banks by allowing them to utilize the built - up capital conservation buffer and liquidity coverage ratio buffer during the covid - 19 crisis. this move is consistent with the bcbs ’ pronouncement that a measured drawdown of the buffers in order to absorb losses and liquidity - related shocks, as well as to support the real economy should be deemed appropriate during periods of stress. meanwhile, for smaller banks ( such as stand - alone thrift banks, rural banks and cooperative