applicants can leverage on our global patent highways to expedite the registration of their patents in more than 30 overseas markets. platforms for innovation the final piece in fintech ecosystem - platforms for innovation. innovation does not occur in isolation. we need platforms to connect people and ideas ; problems and solutions ; and foster collaboration. one such platform we are excited about is afin – the asean financial innovation network. let ’ s begin with the problem statement. there are about 1. 7 billion adults globally who are unbanked. one out of three of the unbanked come from just four countries in asia – china, india, pakistan, indonesia. it is a shame that in this day and age, so many do not have access to a bank account, secure and efficient means of payment, or insurance protection. the root of this problem is two - fold. banks face high costs in reaching out to customers in remote villages. and frankly, many of their mainstream financial services may not be suited to the needs of these customers. fintech firms, on other hand, are able to create agile and mobile digital solutions to access and serve these underserved segments. but they lack the resources to scale and penetrate new markets. this is where afin comes in, to bring banks and fintech firms together to develop solutions to penetrate these hard - to - reach markets. afin is spearheaded by mas, the asean bankers association, and the world bank ’ s international finance corporation. this wednesday, afin will launch api exchange, or apix. it is the world ’ s first cross - border, open architecture platform to enhance financial inclusion. apix is both an online fintech marketplace and fintech sandbox. as a marketplace, it will enable fis to discover and connect with fintech firms through apis on a globally curated platform. as a sandbox, it provides a platform for fis and fintech firms to collaborate and experiment on solutions in a contained environment. please step forward to participate in this exciting enterprise to deepen financial inclusion in asean and the asia - pacific region. next, mas and the infocomm media development authority ( imda ) are working together to create a cross - border innovation platform for smes called business sans borders. 8 / 9 bis central bankers'speeches business sans borders will do two things : it will enable smes to connect in a global services marketplace, where they can explore synergies in digitalising their business processes and mutualise costs. it will

jerome h powell : monetary policy in the post - crisis era speech by mr jerome h powell, chair of the board of governors of the federal reserve system, at " bretton woods : 75 years later - thinking about the next ", a conference organized by the bank of france and the french ministry for the economy and finance, paris, 16 july 2019. * * * seventy - five years ago this month, the foremost economic and policy minds of their generation gathered in a sleepy mountain town in new england. while world war ii still raged, they envisioned a new international monetary system with rules, procedures, and institutions — including the international monetary fund ( imf ) and the world bank — to promote recovery and stability in a war - ravaged world. today we gather in paris, the city of light, to recognize their vision. the bretton woods institutions played a pivotal role after the war in rebuilding economies and in facilitating the international economic relations that are essential to prosperity. generations later, the world bank and the imf continue to play important roles in fostering global monetary cooperation, financial stability, and international trade, as well as in promoting sustainable economic growth and reducing poverty. in 1944, those who sat around the table at the mount washington hotel knew that the trauma and tragedy of the war and the great depression had fundamentally altered the economic systems that preceded them. for us, around our dinner tables tonight, a decade has passed since the global financial crisis. although in no way comparable to the devastating events of the 1930s and 1940s, the crisis represents the deepest and broadest financial upheaval since that era, and in many ways, we, too, are grappling with a changed world. today ’ s conference has looked at this post - crisis environment and the issues we now face from many angles. i am grateful to the banque de france for organizing this important event and to the outstanding speakers for their deep insights. tonight i will offer some thoughts on this new environment. i will begin with a discussion of current economic conditions in the united states, and then highlight some significant structural changes in the environment facing monetary policymakers in the post - crisis era. finally, i will consider how these structural changes are affecting the framework in which we conduct monetary policy, highlighting the federal reserve system ’ s ongoing review of our monetary policy strategy, tools, and communications. the u. s. economy is now in its 11th consecutive year of growth. unemployment has steadily declined from its 10 percent post - crisis peak