securitizers and loan purchasers ( " assignees " ) liable for the actions of mortgage originators. the securitization market is critical to increasing the resources available to fund home purchases and great care should be taken to ensure that investors in the securitization market can quickly and accurately assess and mitigate the risks, including the compliance risks, of mortgages sold in this market. such laws should be very clearly delineated to ensure that they do not have a detrimental impact on the ability of lenders to securitize loans. specifically, assignees must be able to conduct due diligence and determine whether an originator has complied with the law, so that they can evaluate and price for any risks. finally, the bill would enhance hoepa's protections by prohibiting abusive practices, such as prohibiting the financing of single - premium credit life insurance. hoepa's points and fees trigger would be lowered and additional fees added. these potential actions merit discussion, and we welcome the opportunity to continue to work with congressional staff on these and other provisions in new legislation. conclusion the board is engaged in several activities to assist consumers, and continues to develop rules that will improve consumer disclosures, address unfair or deceptive practices, and help consumers facing default and foreclosure. we look forward to working with congress to enhance consumer protection laws while maintaining access to credit.

that is a key question of this conference – one that will be addressed by a panel discussion and also by bank of england governor mark carney in his keynote speech this afternoon. from an economic point of view, digital finance can deliver a wealth of benefits. first of all, digital financial services can bring about significant efficiency gains. digitalisation can also stoke competition within the financial system and raise the contestability of financial markets. some 2 / 6 bis central bankers'speeches commentators even argue that digitalisation has the potential to revolutionise financial services and infrastructure. the key buzzword here is “ disruptive ". and many believe the most disruptive potential is to be found in blockchain or distributed ledger technology, which promises to allow payment transactions and securities settlement to bypass banks and central counterparties altogether. originally developed for the bitcoin virtual currency, this distributed ledger technology, it would appear, has turned out to be a multi - purpose tool. and even central banks – which aren ’ t typically known for being early adopters of new technologies – are currently doing experimental research on the potential use of blockchain. the bundesbank, for example, has recently launched a joint project with deutsche borse to develop a blockchain - based prototype of a securities settlement system. but even apart from radically transforming the payments and securities settlement infrastructure, digitalisation enables newcomers to mount a challenge against incumbent market players. data - driven technologies can boost the transparency of the financial system and thus reduce information asymmetries. big data analysis, for example, can improve the estimation of default risks even in the absence of a longstanding bank - customer relationship. an increasing number of suppliers of financial services is particularly good news for households and enterprises lacking access to traditional sources of finance. in the end, this might drive up the number of projects that receive financing. online crowdfunding or peer - to - peer lending platforms might enable investment projects which would otherwise be too risky or too small for traditional banks, to go ahead. in general, digital finance facilitates access to financial services. and this benefit is not confined to tech - savvy consumers in advanced economies. indeed, digital technologies can be key drivers of financial inclusion in less developed countries, too. in kenya, for example, the share of people with a financial account rose from 42 % in 2011 to 75 % in 2014. over the same period, the respective global figure rose from 51 % to 61 %. in tandem with the mounting ubi