education has also been a lynchpin in our efforts to encourage retirement planning. as life expectancy increases, consumers are expected to effectively plan and manage their finances for their retirement. specific financial education are being introduced, particularly for individuals at the early stages of entering the workforce to provide the relevant information and skills to save and manage funds for their retirement. a further objective of financial education is to reinforce the consumer protection agenda including to be adequately protected against market failures and misaligned incentives. this has become more relevant in the recent period with increasing global pressures being exerted to significantly strengthen prudential and market conduct regulation following the global financial crisis. emerging economies in particular continue to face practical challenges in embracing global standards in a manner that is also aligned with enhancing opportunities for inclusive finance. financial education is an important link in the efforts to build a financial system that is resilient against crises and abuse, while limiting the adverse socio - economic implications that can arise. while the government has a key role in driving the financial education agenda, the private sector also needs to be actively engaged in the education of financial consumers. a commitment to financial education should be a natural extension of the financial industry ’ s commitment to professional and ethical conduct in doing business. in malaysia, a national network for financial education is being pursued involving the several bis central bankers ’ speeches key stakeholders to provide a platform to drive, prioritise and coordinate the financial education initiatives. financial education strategies also needs to be accompanied by a strong focus on developing a robust consumer protection regime with emphasis on fair treatment, transparency and effective recourse that promotes a culture of responsible conduct by financial service providers. the experience of the global financial crisis has clearly demonstrated that an effective consumer protection framework serves not only to protect individuals from excessive risk ; it also has an important role in protecting the financial system from systemic risk. a particular focus on consumer protection policies, and one that is key to advancing the financial inclusion agenda, should be to protect vulnerable groups and ensure that financial innovation is pursued in a responsible manner. the board and senior management of financial service providers have a key role in setting the right policies and incentive systems that support fair and responsible business practices. financial service providers that embrace fair dealings are likely to enhance their competitive advantage by building stronger and more lasting consumer relationships and enhancing their brand value. fair dealings can also reduce exposures to reputational risk arising from poor business conduct, as evidenced by recent incidents of mis - selling and resulting sanctions by conduct authorities. going forward

towards the use of local currencies to support cross - border settlements for trade and direct investments among the three countries. it is an opportunity to mitigate the impact of volatilities in major trading currencies on regional trade and investment activities. we can recall the global financial crisis, where the tightening of global us dollar liquidity was a contributor to the 19 % contraction of total trade and 11. 5 % contraction of total inward fdi into the region. moreover, an enabling environment for the effective use of local currencies will bring about greater cost efficiency and stability for businesses and increase demand for local currency financial products. that will, in turn, be the impetus to strengthen regional financial markets ’ development. 1 / 2 bis central bankers'speeches i am pleased that the event today is made possible by all three central banks, mutually agreeing to grant regulatory flexibilities to the appointed banks under these frameworks, enabling them to provide a wider range of financial services under their respective jurisdictions. taking this opportunity, i wish to introduce the appointed banks in malaysia for these frameworks, namely, maybank berhad, cimb berhad, rhb berhad, public bank berhad, hong leong bank berhad, bangkok bank berhad, united overseas bank ( uob ) berhad and bank of tokyo - mitsubishi ( btmu ) berhad. the implementation of these frameworks will complement our existing close partnership and cooperation as neighbors, with common objectives and shared aspirations. on this note, i look forward to witness the growth in the use indonesian rupiah, thai baht and malaysian ringgit for cross - border settlement of trade between indonesia and malaysia, and thailand and malaysia, respectively. 2 / 2 bis central bankers'speeches