few decades, since grameen bank entered the world ’ s consciousness, microfinance has had a mixed experience. world views on this subject have also become more polarised. some consider microfinance to be the panacea ( which it is not ) to end poverty, others have been highly critical of its abuse to exploit the poor. these characterizations are very diverse but it is useful feedback that we should ponder. these contrasting views illustrate the complexities and challenges associated with the subject. microfinance, like all public policies, faces the challenge of implementation. from a financial stability perspective, it is about introducing riskier and less experienced borrowers into the financial system. hence, the implementation aspect is critical, especially in the attempt to balance the trade - offs between financial stability and inclusion. this is never an easy task. for every success of microfinance, we have seen some failures. one example that comes to mind is the case of a large asian economy in 2010 where the unrestrained growth of micro lending led to high debt stress among borrowers, financial instability, and sensationalized newspaper accounts of suicide among borrowers. 1 / 4 bis central bankers'speeches however, these challenges must not sway our resolve to further the cause of microfinance. we must continue to find new and more efficient implementation strategies. forums such as this give us an opportunity to examine these issues more closely, and share successes and pitfalls so that others might benefit. we therefore welcome the publication of the world bank ’ s report on financial inclusion in malaysia which we hope will also hold useful lessons for others. malaysia has devoted significant focus to the sustainable development of microfinance over many years to boost growth and improve welfare. more than 75 % of businesses in malaysia are micro enterprises, and 40 % of malaysia ’ s households earn incomes below usd850 ( rm3, 650 ) a month. the view that distribution, not just aggregate growth matters, is therefore, a view that resonates strongly with us. william faulkner, the famed american writer and nobel laureate, once spoke of the all - important virtue of “ trying until we get it right ”. he urged writers to “ throw away anything that is false, no matter how much he might love that page or paragraph ”. in a similar vein, malaysia ’ s microfinance journey has been one of trial and error, as we continuously strived to increase the social and economic impact of microfinance, sometimes working against the tide

these issues need to be addressed on the ground, with proper enforcement by management to prevent misselling practices, unclear documentation or explanations by agents and marketing staff, and contract terms and exclusions that are unreasonable. wide gaps have also been observed between companies in the level of competence of staff selling the products, and in the quality of training provided to staff and agents. there is a need to achieve greater, as well as more consistent, progress in this area. bank negara is determined to improve standards in the area of market conduct, and we will continue to actively engage the industry in this effort. i hope that all insurers will throw their support, at the highest level, behind the various initiatives that are being implemented by both the bank and industry associations to achieve this. as a newly - formed alliance, the tokio - marine - asia group has a valuable opportunity to set the correct tone at the outset in this area for your group ’ s priorities in the malaysian market. i trust that you will use the opportunity wisely to set a new benchmark in responsible market conduct for the industry. on that note, let me once again congratulate tokio marine and asia on the official launch of tm asia life malaysia bhd. i look forward with great anticipation to your positive contribution to the further development and growth of the malaysian insurance industry.