other jurisdictions to open accounts. this is very bad for hong kong ’ s reputation. for those of us who know what is being done, hong kong is clearly and definitely not closed for business. one of the important points now is therefore : how can we turn around such a negative perception. 5. last month, the hkma launched a dedicated webpage on our website to provide more comprehensive information related to bank account opening and maintenance. at the same time, we have set up a dedicated email account to facilitate the public and business community to provide feedback directly to the hkma. the hkma webpage contains information about account opening and maintenance procedures, documentation and information requirements for opening banking accounts, and contact details of banks. furthermore, our webpage also provides information on what banks should not do, and useful tips for reference of customers whose account opening applications have been rejected. there is also a “ what ’ s new ” section to provide an update of banks ’ recent initiatives regarding account opening and maintenance. the feedback we received through the email account is handled by a dedicated team at the hkma. 6. some of you might have already browsed through our dedicated webpage and noted that 1 / 2 bis central bankers'speeches some banks have acted on your comments that a dedicated hotline would help improve customer experience. indeed, some unpleasant experience might have been caused by mis - communication or even just a language issue, and a dedicated hotline resourced with properly trained front - line staff would be helpful. 7. in our outreach to chambers in recent months, we have also received comments that it is not user - friendly for business persons overseas to make several trips to hong kong for opening a bank account. we fully agree with that. and i would like to share with you that some banks have launched what we may call a “ pre - vetting ” process for account opening. this means an applicant may request to first submit the documentation and information required for opening an account to the bank by mail, fax or email, and the bank will “ pre - screen ” or “ pre - vet ” them before arranging the applicant to have a face - to - face meeting in hong kong. i trust this change in process flow would be welcome by customers based overseas. 8. we are also working closely with the industry to explore the use of technology to enhance the efficiency of account opening processes, such as kyc utilities ( “ kycu ” ) and technology to allow remote account opening. you may

about it? as in the old irish saying, the first response is to say i wouldn ’ t start from here. but unfortunately, here is where we are. using the recent experience in europe as an example, we can consider a number of possible avenues as to what might be needed to rebuild trust. when it comes to the distrust of the state of banks ’ balance sheets, transparency about the true nature of the assets on the balance sheet will clearly help. but the transparency and the disclosures clearly need to be credible to reduce the information asymmetries. stress testing of the balance sheet by a credible independent party such as the prudential regulator ( apra in the case of australia ) can give depositors, and other investors, confidence that their money will be safe. these sorts of actions work to take the solvency risk off the table. for depositors, this is reinforced by the presence of deposit guarantees. but often it is the sovereign who is providing the deposit insurance. so if there is a lack of trust in the solvency of sovereign, this interlinkage between the financial sector and the government can amplify the problem, as has been evident in the case of ireland and spain, for example. the willingness of the central bank to provide a liquidity backstop, very evident in europe at the moment, reduces liquidity risk concerns. investors are not so concerned that they will be the ones left in the burning building when everyone else has already run to the exit. the quid pro quo for this support is that banks will be subject to more comprehensive regulation and, at least as important, more intensive supervision and scrutiny by their bis central bankers ’ speeches prudential supervisors than was the case before the crisis. the light touch is no longer acceptable. one can make a reasonable case that in australia ’ s case, this doesn ’ t require much change. apra has long exercised intensive scrutiny over the banks it supervises. but even here in australia, there are a number of lessons learned through the crisis that are in the process of being applied. the regulatory regime for financial institutions has tightened considerably. while this might impose some costs on the financial sector and increase the cost of financial intermediation, the benefits are sure to outweigh those costs. this is particularly the case when we see the terrible costs of the high unemployment being experienced in a number of countries around the world at the moment in the aftermath of their financial crises. a change in management practice