the financial stability board and the bank for international settlements has been proactive in trying to understand fintech developments and robustly exploring its benefits, risks, and appropriate regulatory frameworks. the sarb is committed to staying abreast of and contributing to global thought leadership on fintech. page 11 of 13 cyber - risk in addition to these fintech innovations, we are witnessing a rise in cybersecurity risk, which could undermine financial stability. the rapid adoption of new and emerging technologies increases the possibility of technology and systems failure. customers are demanding real - time and remote access to financial services while institutions are sharing data more freely and more frequently ; this consequently creates additional opportunities for cybercriminals. increased access along with the rise in blockchain technologies increases the number of entry points for cyber attackers. as interconnectivity increases the attack surface for cyber - hackers into financial systems, institutions need to develop a more detailed understanding of mobile, cloud, big data, and security technologies. authorities should persist in increasing collaboration with industry players to ensure that integrity, security, and privacy are all part of the design, operation, and development process of innovations. conclusion as has been said on numerous occasions : in these times that we live and operate, change is the only constant we are guaranteed. when presented with opportunities to learn from each other and to lean on the areas of expertise of our counterparts – global, regional, and local – none of us should offer any resistance, whatever the reasons may be. engaging and interacting with each other is a powerful tool that we should never take for granted. page 12 of 13 as the 19th - century french author alexandre dumas wrote in his famous book, the three musketeers : “ one for all and all for one. ” this is very relevant to us as regulators and supervisors who each play a part in maintaining global financial stability in our respective jurisdiction and in the process are contributing towards a more stable global financial system. please do enjoy the rest of this meeting day. thank you. page 13 of 13

institutions ’ attention on managing their risks and safeguarding the robustness of their liquidity, earnings and capital so that they remain financially sound through the economic downturn. second, we took steps to ensure well - functioning markets. singapore ’ s interbank money markets did not experience the seizure that griped the libor markets. however, the openness of our markets meant we could not be immune from the global dislocations. mas reassured financial institutions that they would have access to s $ and us $ liquidity in three ways. we kept a higher level of liquidity in the banking system. we also expanded eligibility to the standing facility to all banks that participate in the mas electronic payment system, meps +, allowing them to repurchase sgs for s $ funds with the mas. finally, we entered into a us $ 30 billion swap arrangement with the us federal reserve. this arrangement has been extended to 1 february 2010. third, measures were put in place to maintain confidence of investors in singapore as an international financial centre. in response to announcements by jurisdictions in the region of blanket government guarantee on deposits, the singapore government announced on 16 october 2008 a guarantee on deposits of individuals and non - bank customers of banks licensed in singapore. this was aimed at ensuring a level international playing field for banks in singapore and demonstrated the government ’ s confidence in the soundness of the financial system. it has also had the effect of maintaining the confidence of investors and depositors in our banking system. state of the financial system the measures taken around the three pillars of maintaining sound financial institutions, ensuring well functioning markets and maintaining confidence of investors, as well as the way in which institutions and market players responded to the crisis, have helped our financial sector weather the crisis. a healthy and functioning financial system has continued to support credit and capital intermediation to the economy. compared to the asian financial crisis, the moderation in bank lending has been milder. while credit conditions have tightened, there has not been disruption of credit flows to corporates. a total of s $ 9. 6 billion 2 was raised by sgx listed companies in the first half of 2009, which accounted for 65 % of source : sgx & thomson reuters. total rights offerings in asia in this period. more than 7, 300 government - backed loans amounting to s $ 4 billion have since been approved in the first half of 2009. in the first quarter of this year, the financial sector grew by 7. 7 %