with an annual growth rate of 1. 1 per cent. credit standards for business loans tightened again in the fourth quarter of 2024, having broadly stabilised over the previous four quarters, as reported in our latest bank lending survey. the renewed tightening mainly reflected banks becoming more concerned about the risks faced by their customers and less willing to take on risks themselves. demand for loans by firms increased slightly in the fourth quarter but remained weak overall. credit standards for mortgages were broadly unchanged, after three quarters of easing, while the demand for mortgages again increased strongly, mainly because of more attractive interest rates. conclusion the governing council today decided to lower the three key ecb interest rates by 25 basis points. in particular, the decision to lower the deposit facility rate – the rate through which we steer the monetary policy stance – is based on our updated assessment of the inflation outlook, the dynamics of underlying inflation and the strength of monetary policy transmission. we are determined to ensure that inflation stabilises sustainably at our two per cent medium - term target. we will follow a datadependent and meeting - by - meeting approach to determining the appropriate monetary 3 / 4 bis - central bankers'speeches policy stance. in particular, our interest rate decisions will be based on our assessment of the inflation outlook in light of the incoming economic and financial data, the dynamics of underlying inflation and the strength of monetary policy transmission. we are not pre - committing to a particular rate path. in any case, we stand ready to adjust all of our instruments within our mandate to ensure that inflation stabilises sustainably at our medium - term target and to preserve the smooth functioning of monetary policy transmission. we are now ready to take your questions. 4 / 4 bis - central bankers'speeches

assistant governor ’ s welcoming remarks at the signing of the first esg islamic repurchasing agreement speaker : encik adnan zaylani mohamad zahid / venue : ibfim kuala lumpur / language : english / speech / interview date : 17 jun 2022 / distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen. assalamualaikum w. b. t and a very good afternoon. malaysia has been ranked first among 135 countries in the global islamic finance development indicator and first among 81 in the global islamic economy indicator, both for the 9th year running, something we are all proud of. the financial sector blueprint 2022 – 2026 sets out bnm's development priorities for the financial sector over the next five years. one of the thrusts is to “ advance value - based finance through islamic finance leadership ” aimed at spurring growth that is progressive, sustainable and inclusive. this includes strengthening malaysia ’ s proposition as an international gateway for islamic finance, augmenting the malaysia international islamic financial centre ( mifc ) agenda. as part of our effort to raise the bar and catalyse global opportunities, there will be several areas of focus but one that is highly relevant for today is our emphasis and a greater focus on opportunities in sustainable finance. this builds on our pioneering work in vbi, and synergise with our efforts on climate and environmental risks – a key piece of the sustainable finance agenda. the sdgs funding gap of oic countries is estimated around usd 1 trillion a year, hence represents a major opportunity for us. our robust regulatory infrastructure, sound shariah governance framework, wide international connectivity, diversified players and products, elevated by the malaysia international islamic financial centre ( mifc ) agenda, provides a conducive landscape for the islamic financial industry to tap into emerging opportunities in these areas of focus. to underpin this is the development of a vibrant islamic financial market. as part of financial market committee ’ s ( fmc ) effort to further develop the onshore financial markets, we have established two subcommittees : the bond market subcommittee and the islamic financial market subcommittee to formulate specific market development initiatives to take us forward. the creation of these subcommittees underlines the importance of both of these markets in the context of overall development of the domestic financial markets. the islamic financial market subcommittee will review the current landscape to identify and address challenges to the continued growth and development of the islamic financial market, particularly in light of the growing importance of malaysia '