services, including cloud storage. if the current pace of change is anything to go by, the future is a vast unknown where only those able to adapt at pace will be able to survive. indeed, it is arguable that there is no part of the traditional financial services value chain that cannot be done better, smarter and more effectively. technology will also potentially affect retail banks ’ balance sheets. for example, new digital apps allow depositors to switch banks by clicking a few buttons, reducing the reliability of deposits as a source of ‘ sticky ’ funding9. in my role, i welcome the opportunities for the financial services system to better serve the needs of the economy and its customers, but i am also mindful of the risks. the pace of change, together with the borderless nature of technology, does require an appropriate level of caution to be taken, through financial services firms taking risk - based approaches to strategic and business initiatives. financial services firms need to make informed choices about where and how they are going to adapt and make sure that the associated risks are understood, considered, and measured as they make changes to their processes and business models. the central bank considers these issues in a number of different ways, working from the top down through the lenses of strategy, governance, oversight, risk management, and so on ; and from the bottom up focusing on the management of the technology itself, and the broader topic of operational resilience. it is fair to say that while we see some good practices, both in incumbent banks and challengers, we also continue to see significant issues. strong foundations there remains a need for substantial investment in irish banks ’ technology and data capabilities. many banks still use outdated and fragmented it systems. the foundations are not yet sufficiently strong to effectively manage the technology risks. delivering for your customers requires that your systems and data are available, reliable and secure. you must continue to strive to reduce the frequency and impact of issues and have an ability to recover quickly from them. operational resilience is critical. boards and senior management need to take responsibility for safeguarding the trust in and reputation of their organisation by prioritising the security, resilience and use of their data and systems. as well as espousing a digital strategy for the future, incumbent and challenger banks need to ensure : the it risk management and it security arrangements are sufficiently robust ; all it assets are actively managed, including through risk assessments to adequately understand the threats and vulnerabilities to them ;

it does a wide range of different circumstances, sometimes including extended family arrangements. it would be unwise to generalise, but there are many circumstances in which there is less reason to be inhibited about repossessing buy - to - let properties. where loan delinquency relates to pure investment type “ buy - to - lets ”, it is surely now past time for the banks to be dealing more proactively with the situation of overindebted buy - to - let borrowers no longer able to service the debts they assumed in order to take investment positions – now loss - making – in property. it is in the long - term interest both of the banks ( and therefore the state ) and the borrowers that the banks continue to ramp - up their capacity to engage with and process such debtors in order to determine, on the basis of actual and prospective income, what repayment they can realistically be expected to service fully, repossessing the collateral where necessary. while this may involve the banks in having to manage a portfolio of repossessed buy - to - let properties, this is not an insurmountable task and should in any event facilitate the improved functioning of the property market and getting closer to a market - clearing price by bringing to the market ( in an orderly and managed way ) many of those properties which at present are implicitly hanging over it as an excess supply. overall, systematic and effective engagement can bring predictability to hopelessly overindebted borrowers, restoring their ability and motivation to become productive members of society. bis central bankers ’ speeches with almost €100 billion of mortgage debt in the republic outstanding in the banks guaranteed by the government, the working - out of troubled mortgage debt is a matter of immense national importance. achieving the right balance between realism in what can be collected and prudence in managing the limited but adequate capital resources that have been provided to the banks by the government is vital. failure in this regard would press on the already fragile finances of the state. the new personal insolvency arrangements could underpin a good outcome here, but the final form of their precise architecture and especially the operational parameters ( how to define affordability etc. ) will be crucial. much also falls on the banks, whose role in ensuring a realistic and effective approach to loan recovery – in effect for the benefit of the state – must continue to be developed alongside the resumption of a less timorous approach to new loan approval