is a wide consensus that small country cannot become rich without accelerating its exports and deepening its integration into the international economy. yet, national authorities should be mindful of the potential risks posed to the financial system and to its customers. as andrea enria, the chair of the ecb supervisory board, recently stated when addressing how digitalization might change banking, “ supervisors are technology - neutral, but not risk - neutral ”. 1 as banks become more digital, the it risks, including cybercrime risks, become increasingly relevant. in addition, as the financial system adapts to the new technological trends, concerns arise regarding issues such as data privacy, potential threats to the financial integrity, clarity, and consistency of the regulatory landscape and the potential for regulatory arbitrage, adequacy of the existing financial safety nets, including the central banks ’ role as a lender - of - lastresort. furthermore, the risk of procyclicality in light of the new lending platforms with little human interaction is also accentuated. asymmetric information and lower transparency may result in underestimation of risks by new players, which in turn may put pressure on the profitability of 1 / 3 bis central bankers'speeches traditional players ( banks ) and increase their risk appetite, as well. and one of the lessons from the recent crisis is that increased access to finance yields short - term benefits, but it can also lead to financial instability overtime, especially if the level of financial literacy is lagging behind. when balancing between opportunities and risks, policymakers are faced with a rising challenge to be nimble, innovative, and cooperative in enabling financial innovation, without neglecting their main responsibility for preserving financial stability and dealing with systemic policy issues. in recent years, in the developed countries, but also in a number of developing countries, the financial regulators have established and implemented various initiatives ( innovation facilitators ) aimed at promoting the use of financial innovation in different segments of the financial system. given the importance of the issue and responding to the rising challenges, our central bank has recently established an innovation hub – a small expert group of the central bank, dedicated to closely monitoring and supporting fintech developments. the scope of work of the hub is directly related to the mandate of modern central banks in the field of maintaining financial stability and monitoring systemic risks. this body will support national bank ’ s efforts to deepen the financial inclusion, contribute to consumer protection and to providing operational and legal certainty in the

dimitar bogov : the needs analysis programme for the national bank of the republic of macedonia address by mr dimitar bogov, governor of the national bank of the republic of macedonia, at the presentation of the needs analysis programme for the national bank of the republic of macedonia in the process of accession to the european system of central banks and the eurosystem to the public, skopje, 22 january 2013. * * * your excellency ambassador orav, honorable director general of the international and european relations at the ecb, mr moss, ladies and gentlemen, distinguished guests, media representatives, it is my great pleasure and honor to greet you today at the national bank of the republic of macedonia for the public presentation of the needs analysis programme for the national bank of the republic of macedonia in the process of accession to the european system of central banks and the eurosystem. first, i would like to thank the eu for the financial assistance provided and to express my special gratitude to the eu delegation in our country for the given support in obtaining the project. also, i would like to express my gratitude to the ecb for the efforts and readiness to carry out the project with the nbrm and to the national central banks of the eurosystem involved in the project for their willingness to contribute to its implementation. taking into account the strategic commitment of our country for eu membership, a few years ago, the nbrm initiated this project of cooperation with the ecb in order to identify the necessary changes in the national regulation, and the needed organization and human resources of the nbrm towards achieving eu central banking standards. the realization of the project, and hopefully, obtaining of a subsequent project for the implementation of the recommendations that will arise from this programme, should enable the nbrm to carry out the process of joining the european system of central banks, and later the eurosystem more easily and efficiently, once the republic of macedonia meets the eu accession criteria. over the past three months, experts from the ecb and the national central banks included in the project, in collaboration with the experts from the nbrm, carried out the activities planned with the first stage of setting the benchmarks according to the european standards and best practices for the operations of the nbrm in ten areas : monetary and exchange rate policy, economic analysis and research, statistics, payment systems, banknotes, accounting, legal services, internal audit, information technology and human resources. as a result of the