that investigated widespread misconduct issues in its banking industry. financial institutions in singapore are generally well regarded. but we have our share of malpractices too, such as the mis - selling of lehman minibonds and other structured or complex products. 8 financial institutions have a duty to act in the best interests of their customers. however, in our supervisory reviews, we have uncovered lapses in conduct. these cases often reflected misaligned incentives and insufficient attention paid to remediation actions and staff training. 9 even back in 2009, mas issued our fair dealing guidelines. these require financial institutions and their representatives to recommend products and services that are suitable for their target customer segments. the guidelines include supporting customers with clear, timely and relevant information to make informed investment decisions. 1 / 5 bis central bankers'speeches 10 mas expects boards and management of financial institutions to stand behind these commitments. we have recently proposed guidelines to strengthen the accountability of senior managers in charge of key functions within a firm. under these enhanced guidelines, boards must clearly designate the officers who are responsible and those who are accountable for the conduct and business operations in their organisations. the measures will include having a clear governance and oversight framework. 11 to avoid a situation where individuals with a pattern of misconduct and transgressions simply move from one financial institution to another, or what is referred to in regulatory circles as “ rolling bad apples ”, mas will further require that financial institutions conduct reference checks with the previous employers of their representatives. carrying out reference checks is already a long - standing industry practice. mas ’ proposal will harden this requirement. 12 mas will also step up our monitoring of financial advisory practices in the industry. one example is our mystery - shopping exercises where we send researchers to “ live test ” the sales and advisory processes in sampled financial institutions. we will carry out more thematic reviews of financial advisory firms ’ consequence management frameworks to assure us that investor complaints are investigated in a fair and timely manner. 13 the reality of course, is that no amount of regulations nor supervision can prevent wrongdoings. to try to do so would require a large volume of pre - emptive rules as well as unlimited supervisory resources. both situations are neither possible nor desirable. 14 this is why mas also places importance on our enforcement actions. we will not hesitate to investigate and take errant financial institutions or their representatives to task for breaches of our law and regulations. we have issued prohibition orders against individuals for a range of misconduct, from mis - selling to

the end of september due to the rapid appreciation of the yen and growing concern over price adjustments. however, they recovered after the rebound in u. s. stock prices. the nikkei 225 stock average is moving at around 10, 500 yen. in the foreign exchange market, the yen rose sharply as market participants became less sensitive to a possible market intervention around the time of the g - 7 meeting and as foreign investors continued to invest in japanese stocks. the yen is currently traded in the range of 109 - 111 yen to the u. s. dollar. with regard to corporate finance, private banks remain cautious in extending loans to firms with high credit risks, while they continue to be more active in extending loans to blue - chip companies. their lending attitudes seem to be becoming slightly more accommodative in areas such as terms and conditions for loans. meanwhile, the lending attitudes of financial institutions as perceived by firms in general are improving somewhat, although those perceived by small firms remain severe. in the corporate bond and cp markets, the issuance spreads remain steady and the favorable issuing environment is virtually unchanged on the whole, especially for firms with high credit ratings, although some firms still seem to be taking a wait - and - see attitude in the corporate bond issuance market in view of the rise in long - term interest rates. credit demand in the private sector continues to follow a downtrend, mainly because firms ’ cash flow remains above business fixed investment and firms are continuously reducing their debts. amid these developments, private banks ’ lending continues to decline at around 2 percent on a yearon - year basis. the amount outstanding of cp issued is above the previous year ’ s level. the amount outstanding of corporate bonds issued is around the previous year ’ s level. meanwhile, according to business surveys, the financial positions of firms in general are improving slightly, although those of small firms remain severe. the year - on - year growth rate of the monetary base continues to be around 20 percent. the year - onyear growth rate of the money stock is around 2 percent. funding costs for firms continue to be at extremely low levels on the whole, although corporate bond issuance rates are increasing slightly reflecting the rise in long - term interest rates. against the above background, the financial developments are summarized as follows. money market conditions continue to be extremely easy. meanwhile, long - term interest rates are at a slightly lower level than last month. stock prices are basically around the same level as last month. growth