monetary policy and uncertainty, but it is also worth noting the introduction of our central banks to the wider institutional system comprised by the national governance structure. this morning, ron mckinnon and willem buiter spoke of the changing doctrinal perspectives on central banks. i believe that there clearly emerges a positive development of the past decades, that is, granting autonomy to monetary authorities to decide on the best instruments to carry out our task. this development has been coupled with a higher transparency and accountability by central banks, something that only a decade ago was not as widespread. this teaches us a valuable lesson : the notions that we consider today as the most firmly established are the result of a specific institutional development rather than unchanging practices. we, as monetary authorities, must contribute to deepening the positive aspects of such development. here, it does not seem adequate either to think of a single “ universal institutional framework, ” but of useful principles such as autonomy and accountability that should be adapted to the institutional reality of each individual country. in the past years, macroeconomic discipline has been strengthened and thus the region is better prepared to face adverse scenarios than in the past decade. however, there is still much work to do in order to reduce potential sources of vulnerability in our economies. this entails a hard duty. agreement among public policymakers and analysts is not enough — there is a need for broad and lasting economic and institutional consensus to prevent policy reversal, which only leads to stagnation and frustration. thank you very much and look forward to seeing you next year.

sector, i would like to highlight two points that might reduce the information asymmetry between financial institutions and businesses, a pre - requisite for building a sustainable financing ecosystem for this sector. firstly, financial institutions must have the capacity and capabilities, to assess the viability of projects despite the complex, diverse and rapidly - changing nature of green technology. secondly, green businesses need continuing advisory support as they may be technically strong, but lack the capabilities to develop comprehensive business plans and cash flow projections, needed to demonstrate that a project is viable to financiers. taking into considerations the two points i earlier raised, bank negara malaysia has worked closely with the ministry of finance and the ministry of energy, green technology and water to establish the green technology financing scheme ( gtfs ), a framework designed to improve the preconditions for financial institutions to finance viable and innovative green technology companies. this is achieved through arrangements that help to bridge information gaps between financiers and businesses. these arrangements also involves credit enhancements and financial incentives, to address current market short comings in meeting a legitimate economic need. also critically important are efforts being pursued to strengthen the capacity of financial institutions, to provide continuing advisory support to businesses that are mutually beneficial to both business ventures and financial institutions. central to this effort is the certification process to verify that businesses which qualify for the gtfs are not only able to demonstrate the required technical capabilities, but are also commercially viable. other complementary efforts include education and awareness programmes, organised around the country to inform and update, financial professionals as well as businesses on the latest developments in the green technology sector. likewise, courses offered by ibbm are designed to equip finance professionals to effectively assess the viability and risk of green technology projects. in 2010, a joint action committee comprising of government agencies and financial institutions was formed to provide an efficient and coordinated platform to tackle implementation issues, such as, on the compliance and monitoring processes of green projects financed under the gtfs. bis central bankers ’ speeches as a result of these holistic efforts, green technology financing is beginning to gain traction amongst financial institutions. to date, the gtfs has supported rm805. 5 million in financing to 65 companies, operating in a broad range of green technology sub - sectors which encompasses energy, buildings, transportation and water and waste management, reflecting a year - on - year growth rate of 130 % in terms of total financing and 171 % in terms of companies assisted. while still small in