greater retakaful capacity. given the absence of such retakaful operators, alternative arrangements for the industry to come together to pool their capacity, expertise and business need to be seriously explored. we already have the essential ingredients – the presence of the world ’ s largest global players in our takaful market, deep shariah knowledge within our domestic takaful and retakaful companies, and an entire islamic finance ecosystem that can be tapped into to really push the frontiers in 2 / 6 bis central bankers'speeches building retakaful capacity. we just need companies that are willing to lead the way. building this will take time, resources and a long term perspective, but this may be a small price to pay to build scale, generate critical mass and position takaful as a credible solution for large and specialised risks. there is also a big opportunity in halal trade facilitation, especially in serving smes. the global halal industry is valued at around usd2 trillion. the takaful industry however, has to be more committed and visible in serving local and international halal businesses. after all, takaful has its roots in the nusantara, when muslim merchants who plied their trade in the far east centuries ago were protected by early forms of takaful. this is why the takaful industry must join the banking industry in participating at the upcoming malaysia international halal showcase. participation will indicate intent, non - participation reflects poorly on the takaful industry, showing the lack of commitment or ability to spot opportunities, or maybe even both. this certainly has to be addressed if the industry is to make any meaningful progress, this sort of things matter. second, the takaful industry must conduct itself in a way that alleviates, not add, to the hardship of customers. i would make this same remark to insurers and takaful operators alike, but with its very essence of kafal emphasising mutual help and assistance, takaful must do more. our expectation is for the industry to consistently deliver best - in - class and superior customer experience. it makes perfect business sense for positive customer experience to be at the heart of the industry ’ s strategy. this is true for any business, but even more important for a product that most people do not normally seek out to buy. mckinsey & co. estimates that globally, insurers that consistently offer best - in - class customer experience produce up to four times

gertrude tumpel - gugerell : the new financial architecture and the role of europe speech by ms gertrude tumpel - gugerell, member of the executive board of the european central bank, at the panel discussion organised by the german office of the european commission, berlin, 19 may 2009. * * * introduction i would like to thank the organisers for inviting me to this highly interesting discussion. since august 2007 we have been in a financial and economic crisis that has developed into one of the most severe since 1929. although we cannot yet speak of an end to the crisis, the crisis that we are currently experiencing has made one thing very clear : the need for reform in the financial sector. while financial markets have developed rapidly in the last decades, the financial and regulatory architecture has been unable to keep pace with such developments. the ongoing crisis has undermined the modes of operation of the private sector worldwide. risks were undervalued and there was a lack of transparency. this has resulted in markets being faced with uncertainty and mistrust which has severely hampered market activity. authorities have reacted swiftly to these challenges in order to restore market confidence. central banks around the world have stabilised markets by providing liquidity to the banking sector and have lowered policy rates to historically low levels. national governments have also demonstrated their capacity to react rapidly to exceptional circumstances and have provided support to the banking system through recapitalisation and guarantees for bank debt. in the longer term, however, we need to improve the resilience of the financial system, so that we have better possibilities to prevent a crisis of this nature from reoccurring in the future. therefore, the most demanding challenge is to develop long - term plans for crisis prevention and crisis resolution. for this we need above all " better " regulation and supervision, which takes account of the increasing interlinkages in the financial sector and places a greater emphasis on systemic risks. in my remarks today, i will restrict my focus to developments in, and initiatives for, financial markets. as i am convinced that only global coordination can bring effective results in the current crisis, i will start with the global initiatives. i will then discuss the role of europe in sculpting the future of financial markets. i will finish with some words on the possible future role of the ecb in macro - prudential supervision. global policy initiatives let me start with the global policy initiatives. the way the crisis has impacted all major economic areas has clearly demonstrated