world namely, to issue legal tender currency and to defend its value ( domestically by ensuring low inflation and externally by ensuring appropriate and stable exchange rate regime ). our specific objective in phase two of the reforms is to make the naira the currency of reference in africa, and thus a strategic catalyst for achieving the goal of an international financial centre as well as promoting nigeria ’ s rapid economic development. we also need the phase two to ensure that the results being achieved under phase one are deepened and sustained. ii : overview of the reforms since 2004 and outcomes before we outline the elements of the strategic agenda, it is germane to briefly review our progress so far. as you are aware, most of our reforms have focused on structural and institutional reforms, and have included the following : • strengthened the institutional framework for the conduct of monetary policy • bank recapitalization / consolidation • programme to possibly eliminate or reduce government ownership of any bank ( to no more than 10 percent ) • improved transparency and corporate governance • zero tolerance to misreporting and data rendition, and strict adherence to the anti - money laundering regulations • implementation of basel ii principles and risk - based supervision • payments system reforms for efficiency – especially the e - payment • reforming the exchange rate management system – adoption of the wholesale dutch auction system ( wdas ) and increased liberalization of the forex market ( which since 2006 led to the convergence of the parallel and official exchange rates for the first time in 20 years ). • restructuring the nigerian security printing and minting, plc ; • addressing issues of technology and skills in the banking industry especially in risk management and ict. • launching of a new micro finance policy and regulatory framework to serve the unserved 65 percent of the bankable public • ongoing pension, consumer credit, and mortgage system reforms • forging strategic alliances and partnerships between nigerian banks and foreign financial institutions especially in the area of reserve / asset management • establishment of africa finance corporation ( afc ), as first private - sector led african investment bank • encouragement of nigerian banks to go global, leading to more than doubling of branch network in west africa since 2004 ; setting up of subsidiaries in london as well as nigerian banks successfully issuing eurobonds and getting listed on the london stock exchange. our grand objective in the banking sector reforms was to re - engineer and fast - track a system that will engender confidence and power a new economy. so far, the grand objectives of that policy are being achieved, and our consolidation programme has

rasheed al maraj : financial technology and its impact on the banking and financial sector keynote address by his excellency rasheed mohammed al maraj, governor of the central bank of bahrain, at the 1st middle east and africa fintech forum, manama, 29 march 2017. * * * your excellencies, distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen, assalam u alaikum and good morning. i welcome you all to the afs fintech conference. this conference will discuss a very important and topical subject – financial technology and its impact on the banking and financial sector. afs deserves our appreciation for arranging this conference. we are living in an era of unprecedented changes mainly brought about by technological advancement. technology was once the backoffice function of a bank. then came the time when technology took the front seat and started driving the industry. now we are witnessing the next phase when technology is defining financial services. technology influences heavily the banks ’ strategy. if a bank is unable to satisfy its tech - savvy customers in an era of super mobility, hyper connectivity and immense computing power, it risks losing them to competition. this is the new normal. at the central bank of bahrain we understand the disruptive nature of fintech to business models and jobs but we have made a conscious decision to adopt it. the pace of innovation is not reversible, so the only choice we have is how well we prepare ourselves for the disruption. the cbb issued yesterday a white paper for consultation on a regulatory sandbox for fintech in which new companies can test their fintech solutions. we will also issue by the end of next month draft rules for consultation on crowdfunding platforms for both conventional and sharia compliant services. we will also release soon our new directives on cloud computing. these new initiatives are continuation of our efforts to provide the right mix of policies and products to develop and enhance the quality and competitiveness of services in the financial sector. bahrain has had a long history of proactive adoption of new technology. in the past few years the cbb has taken a number of important steps in this regard, which include : introduction of a new license of payment service provision and allowing payment service providers to issue prepaid cards to allow the unbankable segment access to affordable payment services including remittances. introduction of efts commercially known as fawri and fawrit as mandatory for all retail banks. the cbb is all for embracing innovation and new