new law that we in the bank of israel propose clearly defines the independence required for a central bank, similar to the situation in other developed countries, but it is apparent to us that independence must go hand - in - hand with responsibility. the new law that we propose therefore also incorporates a clear system of decision - making mechanisms, of internal and public controls, and of reports to the government, the knesset and the public. second, on the side of its responsibility, the proposed law clearly defines the bank's objectives : 1 ) maintaining price stability, according to the target set by the government, as the prime target ; 2 ) supporting the government's other economic goals, including growth and employment, without harming price stability and the proper functioning of the financial system. this replaces the vagueness in the current law. the economic literature states that the central bank will not have independence in its objectives, in other words, the law and the government determine the central bank's objectives. third, the proposed law grants the bank full independence to use the instruments needed to achieve its objectives. in the literature this is referred to as instrument independence. fourth, with regard to decision making, two new bodies are proposed - a monetary committee and an administrative council. the monetary committee will make decisions in the field of monetary policy, and will report accordingly to the public. it is proposed that the governor will chair the committee, which will have a majority of members from outside the bank, who will be selected according to their qualifications in the relevant economic area and free of conflict of interests. the administrative council will authorize administrative issues such as the bank's budget and staff salaries, and will report accordingly to the public. in this council too members from outside the bank will constitute the majority ; one of them will be the chairperson ( not the governor, who will be an ordinary member ). the members from outside the bank of israel will be selected according to their qualifications in the business and administrative sphere, and will be free of conflict of interests. fifth, the proposed law defines a system of periodic reports to the government, the knesset and the public - annual, biannual, and quarterly - as well as a special report which the governor will submit if the bank consistently deviates from the price - stability target defined by the government. the question of the law, as i said above, is vital for the bank of israel so that it can operate in the future, in the near future i hope, in a

growth in asia and growing urbanisation has led to the rise of small highly - populated megacities, many of which lie along areas that are exposed to natural perils. c. third, insurance penetration is still low in asia. just over 8 % 3 of natural catastrophe losses are insured in asia as compared to 40 % in developed regions. 9 ils, together with other risk management solutions including reinsurance and government pools, have significant scope to play a larger role in reducing the financial impact of natural disasters. globally, uk, spain and france have already established natural catastrophe schemes that tap on a combination of traditional and alternative capital. 10 there are positive signs of change, with asean making a push to address its rising exposures to natural catastrophe. let me provide some examples of recent developments : a. asean has commenced a holistic approach to disaster risk management through the asean disaster risk financing and insurance ( adrfi ) programme. the programme will strengthen asean ’ s disaster risk management capabilities through : i. improving data required for assessing disaster risk exposure and financing solutions. ii. enhancing knowledge on disaster financing solutions through capacity building. iii. harnessing risk advisory expertise to provide advice and design risk financing solutions. these building blocks will enable asean members to better understand their needs and design appropriate disaster risk financing programs including through transferring risk to capital markets. b. governments are increasingly using alternative risk transfer mechanisms such as government pools, like the philippines parametric disaster insurance pilot, the thai crop 2 / 4 bis central bankers'speeches insurance scheme and the vietnam pilot agriculture programme. in may this year, the establishment of the southeast asia disaster risk insurance facility ( seadrif ) in singapore was officially announced. as asean ’ s first regional catastrophe risk facility, seadrif will start by establishing a regional catastrophe pool to insure the flood risks of lao and myanmar. seadrif will also seek to sponsor different risk management strategies, including issuance of catastrophe bonds, or to act as a reinsurer to national catastrophe pools, to further strengthen the region ’ s financial resilience to disaster risks. supporting ils growth in asia through singapore 11 the presence of a full - fledged ils market and ecosystem in the region will encourage the development of this risk financing instrument. however, there is currently no established market in asia for ils. 12 as the leading financial centre in asia, singapore is well positioned to fill this need : a. we are a well - established regional insurance hub that offers a comprehensive