a financial environment that is transitioning towards greater deregulation and towards more market - based rules, it is important that the islamic financial institutions inculcate a high level of confidence among consumers not only on the shariah - compliance aspects of the islamic financial products offered, but also on their business operations. concerted efforts by the industry to develop standardized documentation and features of islamic financial contracts would enhance the level of public understanding of the different types and concepts of islamic financial products. islamic financial institutions also need to provide consumers with the information that accurately represents the unique features, risks and returns associated with the islamic products and services. enhanced financial literacy on islamic financial products will facilitate the process for consumers to make well - informed and effective decisions on their financial transactions, with a clear understanding and appreciation of the unique characteristics and features of islamic finance and its real economic value. indeed, the strengthening of the range of islamic products and services needs to be accompanied by an improved market understanding of the islamic financial products. this requires well trained staff who are equipped with the required skills and knowledge in islamic finance that are able to provide quality advice to the customers. correct terminologies need to be used with an ability to highlight the distinguishing features of the products and services. this is particularly important in a dual financial environment where both conventional and islamic financial system are operating in parallel. the regulatory framework governing market practices by the islamic financial institutions can also be strengthened further to ensure its continued soundness. this will involve the implementation of the prudential standards that have been issued by the islamic financial services board, the ifsb. greater transparency through the observance of minimum disclosure requirements needs to be adopted by the industry. good business practices need to be embedded in all aspects of islamic financial operations, not only as part of good governance and corporate social responsibility, but also as part of brand building. market efficiency in conducting islamic business activities can also be enhanced further to ensure its sustained competitiveness as an intermediation process. as we are advancing into the third phase of the financial sector master plan, where the environment will become increasingly more liberalised and dynamic, we now have to look beyond the 2010 strategies. a key feature of the new environment is increased competition. the benefit of this trend will be to the consumers and businesses in terms of better prices, better range of products and services that are of a higher quality. this in turn would contribute to the overall performance of the economy. to be at the leading edge of competition, continuous

surprising for eurosceptics. from 1999 until the outbreak of the crisis, the euro area created 15 million jobs, twice the figure in the us, and cut its unemployment level by two points, to 7. 6 %. per capita income increased almost 14 % in just one decade, and productivity by 7 %. our savings rate is consistently more than double that of the us or britain, our contribution to global imbalances nil, with our external accounts being almost in balance, and our public finances, despite the difficulties, show a deficit standing at around 4 % of gdp in 2011, less than half that of the us. not surprisingly, seven out of ten residents of the euro area with an opinion, according to the latest eurobarometer, think that the euro has been a good thing. and the euro is also viewed worldwide as the most successful symbol of europe ’ s integration, which started half a century ago. so, we do not have to resort to mark twain to conclude that the rumours about the death of the euro may be somewhat exaggerated. however, it is undeniable, and this is the great paradox, that europe now finds itself in the focus of global financial stress due to the sovereign debt crisis. but this is not a euro crisis. it cannot be when the reaction of governments to the crisis has been to consistently renew their commitment to integration. it is a crisis of market confidence in the willingness and ability of some countries to comply with the demands of the euro – and a crisis of the design of the institutional foundations of the single currency. let me briefly explain the reasons for this institutional fragility. 3. the institutional weakness of the euro from its very conception, like all the big steps in the history of european integration, the euro has been an ambitious and unique project. it combined a centralised monetary policy with decentralised but coordinated economic policies. paraphrasing tommaso padoa - schioppa, we decided to give ourselves a currency that doesn ’ t belong to any single nation - state. the advent of the euro was only an episode – surely the most significant in history – of the construction of a post - westphalian order of shared sovereignties. one of the key lessons that we have learned from the crisis is that the design of the euro was incomplete. indeed, the euro area lacks certain institutional elements which we associate with federations and which act as shock - absorbers, countering the negative effects of shocks and