savings rates exceeding 30 % of gross national product for most countries in asia, raises the potential for long - term sustainability of domestic consumption spending. this trend has also supported increased intra - regional trade, investment and tourism that is reinforcing the growth prospects in the region. the evolving trends and encouraging growth prospects in our respective regions present tremendous opportunities for the insurance and reinsurance industry. of significance is that the global insurance industry on the whole has remained resilient throughout the current financial crisis. the overall aggregate financial position of insurers in the crisis affected countries have continued to be strong, and generally not severely affected by liquidity pressures or exposures in the credit derivatives markets. earlier losses by insurers in financial market activities had resulted in a shift to " back - to - basics " models, focusing on core underwriting business instead of heavily relying on investments as the main source of earnings. the industry had also benefited from the subsequent upturn in the pricing cycle which has fortified the capital position of insurers and provided the support to maintaining sound underwriting standards. these conditions have placed the industry on a much stronger position to withstand the challenges emanating from this global financial turmoil. domestic and external conditions are however expected to remain volatile for some time. significant uncertainties will persist in the international financial markets and the broader global economic conditions. these conditions will continue to pose significant challenges to the insurance industry. in this environment, maintaining strong capital buffers and sound risk management is even more imperative to ensuring the continued resilience of the insurance industry. with the adoption of solvency ii in europe and its influence on solvency regimes in other jurisdictions, more countries, including malaysia, have now moved to adopt more riskaligned capital regimes. this needs to be reinforced by substantive improvements in risk management practices, greater alignment between business strategy and risk, and greater appreciation by boards and senior management of insurers on risk issues given the growing complexity and increasing interconnectedness of financial markets and financial sector players. the insurance industry has progressed significantly over the years and is well - positioned to supporting both the recovery process and future growth potential of the economy. as emerging economies rebalance with greater emphasis on private consumption, the social safety net will need to be strengthened, with insurance and pensions now having a greater role. an ageing population will also become an issue in the future. globally, the number of the aged population that is aged 65 and above is expected to grow dramatically by 2050. such

set rediscount rates, regulate money markets, execute the treasury operations and take, jointly with the government, all measures to protect the value of the turkish currency. during and after the second world war, central banking underwent drastic changes in the world in line with the gradual global economic and political transformation. the scope of the central bank ’ s mandate to manage and control the circulation of currency was extended. its responsibility now ranged from issuing banknotes, functioning as a lender of last resort, achieving and maintaining low inflation to being the guardian of financial stability. except the temporary amendment concerning the short - term advances to the government before the second world war, no major amendments were made to the central bank law. 1950s and 60s were relatively easy years. however, the authorities thought that the provisions of the law of the central bank fell short of meeting the necessities of contemporary central banking. therefore, on january 14, 1970 a new law on the central bank of turkey was adopted. the new law brought in changes on the structure of the bank as well as changes in its policy implementations. the most important organizational change was replacing the general director, the highest post in the bank, with the governor. as regards policies, the bank was directly authorized to set monetary policy in line with the development plans and annual programs. the bank was also authorized to conduct open market operations in order to manage money supply and liquidity and was entrusted with medium term discount credit facilities to real sector through the intermediary of commercial banks. in the 70s, there were significant developments in the world economy. in the aftermath of the first oil shock in early seventies, inflation all over the world economies became rampant. accordingly, the main focus was directed towards the fight against inflation. the 1980s and 90s were the years where a number of structural and institutional changes were introduced in the turkish economy. with various measures taken between 1980 and 1989 turkey ’ s both current and capital account transactions were fully liberalized. trade restrictions were eliminated and the turkish currency was made fully convertible. there were also notable changes on the domestic financial market infrastructure. for the monetary policy to be effective what is needed is the existence of well - developed financial markets. for this purpose the central bank played a leading role in the creation of domestic money, foreign exchange and government bond markets. to further strengthen the financial markets infrastructure the central bank established a well - functioning electronic payments and securities settlement system. contrary to these developments, the performance of the turkish economy in terms of inflation