by the big banks, while the smaller banks are still lagging far behind. so the project aims to provide a possible solution also for the longstanding problem of the non - resolved non - performing loans that are still present at a number of banks. the aim is to make them more resilient for future shocks but also free the time of banks'management and enable them to focus on their core banking business and improve their banking offer and service to their clients. it is therefore of equal importance that the banking sector steps up its efforts to address its structural weaknesses in order to build a sustainable business model. in doing so, banks need to elevate their service levels. in the changing business environment, banks must utilise the opportunities that technology offers in order to enhance their service channels, train their employees in this direction and reduce response times. i have made this point a number of times to the banking sector leadership and stressed the importance for cyprus banks to promote and facilitate more efficient ways of doing business. in this respect, banks are currently engaged in transforming their business models towards technologically more advanced services, with digitization being the focus of this effort. investment in technology can become the catalyst in the effort to strengthen efficiency and build sustained profitability. this should ultimately bridge the current gap that exists with the rest of the eu area banks. in order to further encourage, promote and support domestic financial innovation, the cbc announced last december the operation of its innovation hub. the innovation hub aims to become an official platform for communication between the cbc, as a supervisory and regulatory authority, and businesses or start - ups active in financial technology sectors, in other words fintech, that is, combining innovative technology with financial services. 3 / 4 bis - central bankers'speeches thus, the innovation hub is a crucial step in the broader context of the supervisory objectives and priorities that we have set at the cbc, which include innovation, digital operational resilience, digital transformation and cybersecurity. additionally, as i announced in my last year's speech here, the cbc took the initiative to formulate and implement the'digital onboarding'project. as a reminder, this project's goal is to establish faster, more flexible and efficient banking services by developing the technological platform to allow the digital onboarding of clients and the digital monitoring and renewal of information of clients. we undertook this initiative despite the fact that it is not the responsibility of the cbc. we have nevertheless recognized the multiple benefits that such

you know, the basel committee has established a separate subgroup to deal specifically with cross - country implementation issues. the basel accord implementation group ( aig ) comprises line supervisors directly involved in the supervision of large, complex banks in member countries. the aig has already begun to explore and develop solutions for some of the complex issues arising from cross - border implementation. in addition, the members of the aig have already established a constructive dialogue with a working group representing non - g10 jurisdictions on the practical challenges of implementation. as i noted, we anticipate that u. s. banking organizations that account for 99 percent of the foreign assets and two - thirds of all assets of our domestic banking system will be under the a - irb and ama version of basel ii and thus will be fully compliant with the letter, and certainly the spirit, of the new basel accord. u. s. institutions operating under basel ii will apply the framework to the consolidated organization, so that the foreign branches and subsidiaries of these u. s. organizations thus will be in full compliance with the home country rules of the new accord. we anticipate that these institutions, by operating under a - irb and ama, will also be in compliance with the regulatory capital rules of any host country in which they operate. of course, foreign branches and subsidiaries of u. s. organizations will also have to comply with any special rules applied in the host country. in addition, some u. s. organizations engaging in a relatively small amount of cross - border activity may decide to remain on basel i - based rules in this country. we anticipate that, so long as their capital position remains strong and they present no supervisory issues, these entities will be able to continue their cross - border activities. in effect, we believe that our well - capitalized standards, combined with our strong supervisory framework, will allow u. s. banks to meet any requirements for consolidated capital requirements in foreign countries and that those standards result in capital requirements at least as prudent as basel ii approaches for their home country banks. in this case, too, any foreign subsidiary of a u. s. bank would naturally have to adhere to the host country rules applied to bank subsidiaries there. we acknowledge that some of these details still have to be clarified - exactly the task that the aig has undertaken. but i would like to emphasize that these issues relating to basel ii are not necessarily new, since we have been dealing with differences in capital rules