, and that they are able to pay for other obligations on top of this commitment. to this end, at the individual level, we need to put emphasis on the value of financial literacy and financial education. for example, the credit counseling and debt management agency recently launched the “ rumahku ” portal to help potential borrowers in malaysia to understand the financial commitments associated with owning a house. it also helps them to understand their capacity to meet these commitments. so far, more than 3600 people have completed the modules and a substantial number of them, one in five, have decided not to proceed with the purchase. this points to two things. firstly, the module is successful in nudging participants to reassess their existing financial obligations before they can take on more than what they can handle. secondly, it reinforces the need to continue pushing for financial education. individuals need to know their capacity, and what they can afford before undertaking a commitment of this magnitude. we have established that every individual needs to play their part to ensure that they are fully aware of and are able to undertake the commitment of buying a house. however, the responsibility does not reside with the buyers alone. industry players in the private sector also 1 / 3 bis central bankers'speeches have a role to play to support the national agenda of affordable homes. as one of the core players in the housing market, developers have a significant role to play. in providing the supply of homes for the public, developers should seek to provide homes at an affordable price point. using international affordability metrics, houses in malaysia are considered to be “ seriously unaffordable ” with a median multiple of five times. this, in turn, affects home ownership. take the latest data of unsold residential properties of about 171, 000 units. about 74 % of them are priced beyond what ordinary malaysians can afford. it is, therefore, imperative for developers to adjust their product offerings and consider bringing their costs down. one of the ways would be to seriously explore leveraging on more advanced and cost - efficient construction technology, such as industrialised building system ( ibs ). as cost of construction remains one of the major determinants of house prices, increasing efficiency and lowering costs can lead to a more inclusive housing market. beyond considerations for price points that reflect greater affordability for the buyer, developers also have the responsibility to build houses that cater to the modern needs of the public. aspects of quality, sufficient amenities and safety must

where common functions and capabilities have been pooled leading to more cost - efficient entities as well as allowing for greater focus in the marketing and customer management. following this rationalisation, the cost to income ratio of the domestic banks have improved from 55 % in 2003 to 51 % in the first quarter of this year. on the aspect of improving customer interface and improving time taken to conduct banking transactions, branches have been redesigned with new business models. with this move, branch staff now have greater opportunity to provide value - added consultations and interface with clients. increased investments have also been made to improve information systems - to be better positioned to understand customers'profiles and needs, as well as enhance overall risk management. technologies such as data warehousing are now readily available to aid banking institutions to be more customer - centric and thus be more focused in their approach. as a result, more institutions have undertaken to offer greater product differentiation and value added services. the robust growth in the malaysian economy has also contributed to an increased demand for life insurance coverage. the growth in premium income has continued to outpace economic growth. over the period 2000 - 2004, the market penetration rate increased from 31 % in 2000 to 39 % in 2005. the per capita spending on life insurance products also increased at an average annual rate of 10 % over the same period. notwithstanding this wider reach, life insurance coverage has remained relatively low compared with the more developed markets in the region such as the republic of korea, singapore and japan which reported penetration rates of more than 80 %. given the vast untapped market potential and the increased product innovation and new distribution channels, the life insurance penetration in malaysia is expected to strengthen. demographic changes leading to a growing ageing population has been a growing concern in many countries. given the trends in rising life expectancy and falling birth rates, responding to the increased challenges of retirement financing has been high on the nation's socio - economic development agenda. going forward, there will be greater interest in private pension schemes representing an are of significant growth opportunities for life insurers. the financial performance of the malaysian insurance industry has also continued to be impressive during the 2000 and 2005 despite the challenging underwriting and investment conditions, with growth primarily driven by the life sector. total insurance fund assets of the industry grew at an average annual rate of 13. 8 %. the insurance industry also increased in importance as a component of the economy and financial system. the ratio of total industry assets to nominal gnp rose from