ravi menon : basics for smart finance – common standards and seamless data closing remarks by mr ravi menon, managing director of the monetary authority of singapore, at the sibos conference, singapore, 15 october 2015. * * * mr yawar shah, chairman, swift mr gottfried leibbrandt, ceo, swift ladies and gentlemen, good afternoon. a. revolution in communications “ what hath god wrought? ” read the first telegraphic message sent by samuel morse on 24th may, 1844. the telegraph marked a revolution in communications at the time. • transatlantic telegraph cables cut communications between america and europe from about 10 days – the time it took for steam ships to sail across the atlantic – to a matter of minutes. • in fact, the mid - 19th century leaps in transport and communications technologies ushered in the first phase of economic and financial globalisation. ground - breaking as the telegraph was, a text message that takes minutes to arrive will be considered glacial by today ’ s standards. it will certainly not be able to support the frenetic pace of communications in the global financial system. thankfully, we have swift. last year, there were 5. 6 billion messages carried globally on swift ’ s network. • close to half the messages related to international payments, which lies at the heart of global banking. • technology has transformed cross - border finance. smart financial centre it is mas ’ s conviction that innovation and technology will be critical to the future growth and success of singapore ’ s financial sector. earlier this year, mas shared its vision of a smart financial centre : a financial centre where innovation is pervasive and technology is used widely. it is about pursuing innovation and technology to : • increase efficiency ; • manage risks better ; • create new opportunities ; and • improve people ’ s lives. we are walking the talk. • we formed a new fintech & innovation group ( or ftig ) within mas. • ftig ’ s mission is to formulate policies and strategies to create a conducive ecosystem for innovation while fostering safety and security. bis central bankers ’ speeches • mas has committed $ 225 million over the next five years under the financial sector technology and innovation scheme. we have been working closely with the industry as well as reaching out to the broader “ fintech ” community. • we have been talking to start - ups, software providers, and experts and practitioners in various fields of financial technology, including data analytics, cyber security, blockchains, and digital payments

achieve greater fiscal and external sector sustainability. among the developing countries, emerging countries in asia continue to remain a bright spot. they have shown extraordinary resilience in the face of the recent global slowdown and continue to exhibit healthy recovery. while timely and complementary policy actions taken by a number of countries to facilitate the revival of external demand and expand intra - regional trade are promising, medium - term prospects would depend on the recovery in major industrial countries. the scope for exchange rate flexibility, particularly in view of the recent build up of reserves in many countries, has generated a lot of debate over the last few months. this calls for a more dynamic and pragmatic approach in the analysis of recent trends in exchange rates and reserve management practices keeping in view country specific circumstances. the recent strengthening of external position of many developing countries through building up substantial foreign exchange reserves can be viewed from several perspectives. first, it is in part, a reflection of the lack of confidence in the international financial architecture. international liquidity support through official channels is beset with problems relating to adequacy of volumes, timely availability, reasonableness of costs and above all, limited extent of assurances. second, it is also a reflection of efforts to contain risks from external shocks. private capital flows which dominate capital movements tend to be pro - cyclical even when fundamentals are strong. it is therefore necessary for developing countries to build cushions when times are favorable. high reserves provide some self - insurance which is effective in building confidence including among the rating agencies and possibly in dealing with threat of crises. third, the reserve accumulation could also be seen in the context of the availability of abundant international liquidity following the easing of the monetary policy in industrial countries. the resultant excess liquidity flowed into the emerging markets. in the event of hardening of interest rates in industrialized countries, this liquidity may as quickly dry up ; in that situation, emerging market should have sufficient cushion to withstand such reverse flows of capital. fourth, and most important, the reserve build up could be the result of countries aiming at containing volatility in foreign exchange markets. it should be recognised that the self corrective mechanism in foreign exchange markets seen in developed countries is conspicuously absent presently among many emerging markets. it is also necessary to recognize that developing countries face major challenges in their effort for sustained economic growth which could enable them to make a significant impact on poverty reduction. recent studies by the world bank indicate that there would be considerable shortfalls in achieving