understand such sentiments. this is why the mas has also accepted the council ’ s recommendation to set up a standing corporate governance advisory committee to monitor cg developments on a regular basis, and you can expect more details on this committee once it is set up. there are other views calling on regulators to adopt quicker or harsher actions in response to cg violations. some felt that directors should be held more accountable for their fiduciary duties, or breaches in their fiduciary duties. investigations are usually complex and time - consuming affairs especially if there are crossborder elements involved. at the same time, it is important that our financial sector operates with a clear rule of law, as well as fair and transparent legal processes. this is to assure a trusted regime for everyone. we must allow for thorough investigations as a matter of legal and investigation integrity. there is often a web of details to be ascertained in each case of possible misconduct. any premature updates to the public can also compromise investigations. in such situations, regulators would avoid alerting suspects who are under investigation at the outset, so as not to prejudice the investigations, in the process of evidence gathering. as a matter of due process, the mas does not reveal information during ongoing investigations until the investigations have been concluded. some of these considerations equally apply to the sgx as the frontline market regulator. 2 / 4 bis central bankers'speeches notwithstanding this, the mas supports putting out more information on our investigation outcomes and of our enforcement approach. some of our recent measures include : ( a ) press updates on our enforcement actions as well as publishing these on our website. ( b ) enhanced disclosure of the mas ’ enforcement statistics through the use of infographics and dashboards in our annual report. this is to provide the public with a better overview of enforcement actions that the mas has taken over the past year. where appropriate, we will provide more information on our investigations that could be of public interest, as long as these do not compromise the reviews. ( c ) in 2016, we also published a monograph that explains the role of enforcement in the supervision of singapore ’ s capital markets. we are in the process of updating the monograph by later this year. this will provide more clarity on the respective roles of the various agencies – as well as mas ’ own approach to investigating misconduct. where laws are broken, the mas will rigorously investigate a case including with the commercial affairs department ( “ cad ” ), and will

growth of islamic finance is in no way guaranteed. for islamic finance to continue thriving, the industry has to overcome a few key challenges. but in every challenge, there is also opportunity. let me highlight three of them this morning. islamic finance in the era of deleveraging the clear and present danger to all financial activity, including islamic finance, is the risk of contagion from an escalation of the eurozone crisis. islamic finance is closely intertwined with underlying economic activity and will be affected by the impact of slower global growth. contagion from the eurozone has already curtailed economic growth and capital inflows to many emerging economies where islamic finance has taken root. potential spillovers from an escalation of the eurozone crisis could lower output in the middle east and north africa region by about 3¼ percent relative to baseline, the largest spillover effect for any region outside europe. but islamic finance has a window of opportunity in the current climate of deleveraging in the global financial system. with its strict prohibition on excessive leverage, islamic finance has been spared the worst of the financial crisis. islamic banks are well positioned to reach out to new customers who are in need of financing as many global institutions pull back on their lending due to the need to repair their balance sheets. islamic finance should diversify into growth areas such as trade and infrastructure financing, where demand is still strong, especially in emerging economies. with a focus on supporting real productive activities, islamic finance is naturally compatible with trade and infrastructure development. tapping these sectors also brings about greater diversification benefits, especially for islamic institutions which have been hurt by their significant lending exposure to the real estate sector. islamic finance and global regulatory reforms a second factor that islamic finance will have to contend with is the ongoing global regulatory reforms. the scale and scope of these reforms are probably unmatched in recent history. islamic financial institutions will have to devote considerable resources to meet the new international standards. but there are certain inherent characteristics of islamic finance that will stand it in good stead in the emerging regulatory environment. take for example, banking, where the emphasis of regulatory reform is on more capital and more liquidity. islamic banks have consistently held higher levels of capitalisation vis - a - vis conventional banks, by some 2. 5 percentage points on aggregate, according to research from the world bank. islamic banks also start off with a higher level of liquid assets compared to their conventional counterparts. islamic finance is also well placed to meet the increased