more affordable financial and protection solutions, will be instrumental to serve those who are currently financially underserved or excluded. the integration of social finance into islamic financial services encourages wealth distribution among society to achieve greater balance between wealth creation and wealth sharing. ultimately, fintech in malaysia should be harnessed to offer inclusive, sustainable and relevant financial products and services to serve the needs of all. the responsibility to manage the attendant risks this however means that we need to be cognisant of the potential risks associated with technology. this will be especially important as fintech and bigtech firms become more prominent in the financial system. such firms could pose system - wide vulnerabilities that can amplify shocks to the financial system and cause financial and economic instability. increasing reliance and concentration on third party service providers, including those located offshore, to support critical functions, could also increase operational vulnerabilities in more unpredictable ways the demands of society for speed, convenience and cost efficiency are at a point where substantial tensions already exist between pressures on financial institutions to accelerate the adoption of technology, and our capacity to manage those risks effectively. these tensions will only increase going forward. managing these tensions at an optimal level will be critical. it will call for changes to how financial institutions internally oversee and manage technology risks, both within and across their business activities, invest in hard and soft infrastructure and having much deeper collaboration across institutions and agencies. socially responsible finance will also require institutions to carefully consider how technological innovations may create new forms of financial exclusion or raise difficult ethical questions. clear guidance on acceptable conduct by staff and relevant parties will be needed. this in turn, will require financial institutions to reflect on their core values and risk appetite. in short, managing technology risks is not just an operational matter. it is a strategic one with high stakes for individual institutions, as well as the industry and the economy more broadly. our response should be commensurate with these stakes. beyond measures taken at an institutional level, there is a pressing need for the financial industry, and indeed even the nation, to provide an enabling and secure framework for technological innovation ; and educate and empower the public to take advantage of innovations. for example, the need to formulate a cohesive, coherent and comprehensive national strategy on cyber security is an urgent need. we can only play our intended role to support the broader economy if we are attentive to both strategic and operational considerations of risk. developing a safe, sound and vibrant financial system through innovation and

change have already increased five - fold in the past 30 years. the third is the rising income inequality that can threaten the fabric of our society. consider this. the top 1 % of the population has captured twice the global income growth of the bottom 50 % since 1980. worse still, inequality has persisted despite large transfers of public to private wealth in many countries. the fourth is the rising populism and protectionist policies. this can be seen in inward looking policies and anti - establishment views that have become more entrenched in parts of the world. slow growth, lack of economic mobility and erosion of trust in public and private institutions are among the factors that are likely to have contributed to this. like undercurrents before a storm, these trends have far reaching implications for political, economic and social systems. last but not least, the fifth shift is the advancement of technology. this has and will continue to 1 / 5 bis central bankers'speeches dramatically alter the way we behave, interact and transact. much has been said about the benefits, but an increasing reliance on technology presents risks that we cannot ignore. this includes issues of data privacy, discrimination or biases and also displacement of certain segments within society. in the digital age, higher order risks of cyber - attacks and operational disruptions are magnified in ways that we have yet to fully comprehend. calling for a financial system that is relevant, safe and socially responsible these five megatrends and finance are deeply intertwined. while undoubtedly finance has helped to power the economic rise of asean, its role in contributing to an increase in climate risk and inequality cannot be denied. therefore, as we consider the future of finance, we need to contemplate not only how these megatrends may impact finance, but how finance itself can respond to and shape these trends in more positive ways moving forward. in my mind, this calls for a financial system that is relevant, safe and socially responsible. finance must be relevant to the needs of the economy. this means that it must offer suitable, cost - effective and quality financial products and services for all segments of society. it must also respond to the changing demographics and structure of the economy. for example, as we move towards becoming a digital economy, the financial sector must accord adequate support to innovative smes, such as those involved in e - commerce. equally important, we must remember that this imperative is not only for banks, but extends to the other parts of the financial sector. non -