from support measures that we instituted. in our context, the extension of repayment assistance programme has been accompanied by strengthened supervisory expectations on monitoring and stress testing of exposures under repayment assistance. further, we have also increased supervisory reporting requirements on such exposures and focused monitoring on more forward - looking indicators such as banks ’ internal mfrs 9 staging of exposures for purposes of macro - and micro - prudential surveillance to facilitate timely decision - making. 2. second, frequent engagements with banks have helped to provide timely and steady steer in ensuring their support of the recovery, without compromising resilience. for example, banks were not only expected to allocate resources and management attention to support repayment assistance efforts, but also effectively monitor the attendant risks arising from these efforts. as a result, we saw banks strengthening their own capacity to cope with the sharp increase in debt restructuring applications and support tailored repayment assistance plans for viable borrowers. in addition, notwithstanding the flexibilities granted under accounting standards, banks have maintained prudent asset classification and provisioning practices when assessing borrowers ’ creditworthiness. these include pre - emptive staging of loans to recognise higher credit risks among specific borrowers seeking repayment assistance, more conservative provisioning models, and increased application of management overlays to bolster model - determined provisions. 3. finally, the ready presence of effective institutional arrangements has also helped us be prepared for managing an influx of distressed borrowers. drawing on our experience from the asian financial crisis, malaysia has in place debt restructuring mechanisms for individuals and businesses alike. these include out - of - court platforms, namely the corporate debt restructuring committee ( cdrc ) for large corporates, small debt resolution scheme ( sdrs ) for smes, and credit counselling and debt management agency ( akpk ) for individuals. akpk, in particular, has become a staple name in malaysia due to its vast publicity campaign. although we have not observed any spikes in the number of cases admitted into cdrc, sdrs and akpk, in part due to banks ’ enhanced capacity to carry out debt restructuring, we resolved not to leave anything to chance. accordingly, the capacity of these out - of - court platforms was ramped up at the onset of crisis in anticipation of a potential deluge of distressed borrowers. to further enhance operational efficiency, the 2 / 3 bis central bankers'speeches sdrs was absorbed into akpk, making akp

##k now the one - stop platform for both individuals and smes to restructure debt and obtain financial advice. that said, it is equally important for policymakers to ensure that mechanisms for swift npl resolution remain appropriate, not only to prevent an accumulation of legacy npls in the banking sector but also to provide borrowers impacted by this pandemic an opportunity to bounce back once the crisis abates. such a balanced approach helps to preserve the value and productive capacity of borrowers in turn limiting long - term damage to the economy. for malaysia, work is underway to strengthen legislation which will expand the coverage of businesses that can benefit from court - sanctioned recovery mechanisms. this will help flatten the insolvency curve and avoid more permanent scarring, if npl cases were to spike. admittedly, this is an area where there are opportunities to do more and one where all of us can potentially learn from each other. concluding remarks let me conclude. looking ahead, we are cautiously optimistic that the tide may be finally turning in this crisis. however, we certainly can ’ t conclude that the covid - 19 pandemic is firmly behind us. we humbly admit that the virus has wrong footed us several times. the hallmark of good policymakers is to, as the saying goes, “ hope for the best, but prepare for the worst ”. our challenges may differ, but i believe for all of us attending this webinar, our end goal is the same – to successfully navigate the exit from this pandemic and effectively manage any potential surge in npls such that our financial sectors are able to continue to lend support to the recovery process while mitigating more permanent economic scarring. on that note, i wish everyone a day of engaging discussions and fruitful learning. 3 / 3 bis central bankers'speeches