in this post - crisis world, the competitive financial landscape is being redrawn by the evolving international regulatory reforms, changing operating models, rising consumer expectations and increased competition. in this more challenging environment, the success of sustaining the momentum of islamic finance as a transformative agent for the economy, will hinge on the ability to keep raising the bar in the pursuit of an effective functioning and sound islamic financial system. post - crisis, the increased emphasis for inclusive and sustainable products as well as responsible corporate behavior provides clear potential for islamic financial players to demonstrate leadership by capitalizing on core value propositions of islamic financial intermediation. there is also scope for greater leverage on the advances of technology and new institutional arrangements that can enhance operational excellence, particularly distribution channels for extending outreach to the range of users from households to microenterprises and small and medium scale enterprises. in addition, innovations in islamic financial solutions will need to take into account the higher regulatory expectations for more transparency, and the need for the effective management of risks and capital. this involves strengthening the resilience of the islamic financial system in alignment with the evolving international regulatory developments thus raising the bar of industry performance. the ifsb has made significant advancements in leading the efforts to review specific measures put forward by the basel committee for possible adoption in islamic finance. further to this is the imperative to cultivate a strong risk culture within institutions. reinforced by a robust shariah governance framework, it will ensure that innovation for furthering the development of islamic finance is harnessed within the boundaries of the shariah, which would avert overzealous innovative activities that could undermine financial stability. let me conclude my remarks. much has been achieved, both in terms of the role and contribution of the ifsb, and the advancement made by islamic finance in this recent decade. this has been an outcome of cumulative efforts to strengthen the foundations of the islamic financial system. as the industry gears itself for the next phase of growth in the more challenging environment, our commitment and strategies to keep raising the bar to bring islamic finance to a new level will enhance its prospect to contribute to achieving our shared vision of inclusive growth in an environment of financial stability. bis central bankers ’ speeches

the foresight to embrace innovation to deliver greater customer value, openness to change and responsible adoption by the industry. right now, digitalisation is riding on the coattails of the covid - 19 crisis. with social distancing and travel restrictions, anything that can be done online or virtually is being done so. there is no option for financial institutions but to be able to deliver and ensure the integrity of their services – banking, payments, insurance or takaful, in dealing with customers – digitally or online during these times. the road is thus wide open for fintech. in a not so distant future, we can expect that fintech will be part of the mainstream, perhaps even becoming the primary mode of delivery for financial services, no longer requiring strategising and planning on how we could fully embrace it in conferences and dialogues like we will be doing today. before i conclude i would like to congratulate isra for their development of the i - fikr app, which 2 / 3 bis central bankers'speeches will be launched during the event. the app certainly fits well with the digitalisation of the islamic finance knowledge of the islamic finance industry. we hope to see it as another home - grown product that will contribute further toward the advancement of the islamic finance industry. finally, once again i would like to thank and commend isra for organising the islamic fintech dialogue 2020. events such as this provide us an opportunity to take a step away, allowing us the space to focus on key issues and challenges which i hope will inspire us to improve on our vision and strategies for innovative transformation in islamic finance. over the course of this 2day event, with the array of speakers and moderators, i am confident this will be achieved. i urge you to be part of the conversation and engage in the dialogue. i pray that the event will be of great benefit to all participants. 3 / 3 bis central bankers'speeches