here i have in mind particularly the possibility to employ regtech and suptech tools to boost aml / cft compliance. with the amount of money laundered globally ranging from 800 billion to 2 trillion us dollars each year, fintech can definitely lend a helping hand. moving on to the challenges, what stands out is the potential impact of fintech on the broader financial system. by building novel consumer relationships, fintech firms put pressure on the operative models of established financial institutions. to be more precise, nearly 90 % of incumbents in europe and asia claim that at least part of their business models is at risk due to rising competition from innovators. this suggests that traditional players either have to change, or they risk losing market share – or even being completely pushed out of game. yet it is not only established financial institutions that need to change. the regulator community is facing a similar challenge. without adapting our frameworks, we risk being sidelined and unable to meet expectations – especially when it comes to issues like ensuring financial stability. more and more regulators around the world – including within the 16 + 1 framework – seem to have realized this, tailoring their toolkits and choosing to facilitate rather than restrict innovations. as we move towards more regulatory flexibility, we have to remain alert concerning the new risks stemming from fintech. this has to do, first and foremost, with cyber security. relying on novel technological solutions, such as cloud computing, certainly offers efficiency gains for financial entities. but it also creates additional headaches for regulators, as critical ict infrastructure of the supervised institutions, as well as vast amounts of sensitive data are exposed to hacking and other forms of malware. apart from this, it is essential to keep a close eye on the potential intensification of macrofinancial risks. while currently fintech does not pose a direct threat to financial stability due to its limited overall size, the situation may change rapidly if left unchecked, especially given the rapid expansion of the sector. and a hidden build - up of risk is definitely not the outcome we as regulators would like to see. fintech developments have also lately attracted elevated attention from international financial institutions. various risk mappings and assessments of the opportunities embedded in financial innovations have been carried out by the financial stability board, the basel committee on banking supervision and other key bodies. just last month the international monetary fund announced its fintech agenda, which will serve as the basis for deeper fund ’ s involvement in the

the amount of interest that we have been receiving lately indicates that there should be yet more to come in the near future. this is fueled partly by the ongoing brexit process, which pushes uk firms to reallocate themselves to europe if they wish to maintain their continental operations. aiming to further boost the standing of lithuania as a fintech hub, we are actively expanding our network of cooperation with foreign regulators. for instance, the bank of lithuania has signed fintech cooperation agreement with the monetary authority of singapore. we also have a supervisory agreement with the china banking regulatory commission dating back to 2015 and we are currently in process of updating it to include fintech and aml / cft issues. as for the 16 + 1 cooperation framework, i personally see this as a unique platform for deepening ties in the fintech domain. it provides us with a setting that allows exchanging information, sharing the emerging best - practices, building mutual trust and facilitating day - to - day regulatory cooperation. of course, these tasks are easier reached with dedicated formats. it is for this reason that lithuania will be hosting a highlevel 16 + 1 fintech forum next autumn, bringing policymakers together to consider practical ways of enhancing cooperation in the sector. and that is not all. next year lithuania is planning to launch a 16 + 1 fintech coordination centre. operating in our capital city vilnius, this centre will strive to involve decision makers, regulators, members of the academia, the civic society and industry representatives. its key goal will be to facilitate continued dialogue and circulation of knowledge among the 16 + 1 countries regarding innovations in financial services. for instance, the centre could analyze the potential of the blockchain technology, application of artificial intelligence and big data solutions, as well as dealing with cyber security, consumer protection and operational risk management issues. i sincerely hope that both formats – the high - level forum and the fintech coordination centre – will attract substantial interest within this framework and that the interest will stem outside the regulator community. instead of a conclusion, let me just say that i hope that in several years ’ time, we will be able to look back and say that the topic of financial innovations is a true success story of the 16 + 1 cooperation, demonstrating the effectiveness and significance of this format. thank you.