of the financial system. supervisors need to encourage financial institutions to operate their businesses in a safe and sound manner as new delivery channels or services could exacerbate some of the same risks inherent in traditional banking. however, the prudential regulatory framework has to be congruent to the evolution of the e - banking business. therefore, we need to strike a balance between the need to maintain the stability of the financial system and to foster developments, competition, and a level playing field. there are ways to overcome this challenge. - regulators need to keep up with the development of the market while being proactive in formulating the regulatory framework. in the case of thailand, bot takes an active role in meeting regularly with financial institutions and it companies to exchange views and experiences on the development of the businesses and it environment. - in the process of drafting policies, we often seek out the view from our fellow regulators to ensure that our policy are in line with market and international practices, as well as to help us anticipate problems that may arise in implementation. - the final drafts of policies are sent out for comments from key stakeholders in and outside the bank of thailand, especially the industry, to ensure that the policies are practical and not posing any undue burden on financial institutions. - we also make sure that revision of regulations and guidelines is conducted regularly to ensure that e - banking policies are keeping with demand from the financial community as well as with market innovation and international best practices. - to maintain proactive supervision, the it risk - based supervision is conducted continuously, updating each of bank's it risk profile on a regular basis and performed overall assessment in certain areas. in case of getting a report of any incidents, we have to thoroughly analyze the impact on the financial institution system and consumer. and, to prevent recurrence of such incidents, we may urgently issue notification to financial institutions to provide preventive, detective and corrective control measures in self and customer protections. with the rapid development in technology, in the near future, apart from the known internet banking, we will see more of the " non - traditional " banking products. the providers of these services will not only be limited to banks, but also non - banks. of course, the extent to which a non - bank provider can offer these new products and services depends on the rules and regulations of each country. to promote a fair competition between service providers that are banks and non - banks is a challenge for the authorities. bot

wholesale central bank digital currency ( cbdc ), where design and technology choices are being explored. meanwhile, there remain many puzzles and unknowns, where the costs and benefits are unclear and require much more research, study, and debate to identify potential impacts or to assess whether a particular development should be pursued. these include unknowns such as introduction of retail cbdc, which can have implications on the business model of banks and the financial sector and on transmission mechanism of monetary policy. or, broader issues such as the autonomy of central bank ’ s policy, which will be challenged by bigtechs and cross - border technologies, as much of central banking has been designed based on a world with national borders. other unknowns will arise in the future ; all of which dictate that we have to be nimble and forward looking. ultimately, when facing the challenges from the knowns and unknowns, the role of central banks is not only to understand key issues and provide stewardship in the right direction but also to ensure that benefits and costs are well balanced and unintended consequences minimized. during the period of rapid digital transformations, there is no denying that digital divide can worsen, especially in emerging economies. there will be those with access, are able to take advantage of technological advancement, and prosper ; and those who lack access or capability to leverage on modern technology, fall behind, and perish. finding that right balancing will certainly be a challenge for us, central bankers, but it can be an area where international collaboration and networking platforms, like the seacen centre, can play a role. refining the knowns, looking ahead for the unknowns, and balancing our actions. these are how we should approach our policy questions. i am glad the seacen and its organizers have selected a number of topics that will allow us to think deeply about digital transformations and implications for central banks and encourage that future seacen activities put even greater emphasis on how we can balance our policy actions and enhance collaboration among members in this new area. i would also like to thank the group of scholars and practitioners here with us today, who will share their thoughts on many important topics, help broaden our perceptions of the knowns, and shed some lights on the unknowns. 3 / 4 and on this note, allow me to introduce governor duvvuri subbarao, former governor of the reserve bank of india and currently a distinguished visiting fellow at the institute of south asian studies of the national university