policies ( e. g. the crisis triggered a freefall in economic activity that called for policy relaxation, the exit from which could postpone economic recovery ), but also the interconnectedness between financial institutions, markets and cross - border activity. last but not least, the whole system of checks and balances must not breed complacency in any of the actors involved, as the crisis has shown that tail events may be rare but are still possible. with the benefit of hindsight, it would not perhaps be too unfair to say that the initial policy response to the crisis was timid and to some extent reluctant. soon however, in the face of such unprecedented challenges, governments, national central banks, international financial institutions and supervisory and regulatory authorities around the globe all demonstrated a remarkable unity of purpose. the extraordinary magnitude of the crisis led to the acceptance that extraordinary measures were needed, if a repeat of the 1930s was to be averted. in order to forestall the impact of the crisis, policy makers deployed both conventional instruments ( such as cutting key policy interest rates and increasing public spending ) as well as a battery of non - conventional ones. i would add, if i may, that intellectually this has been an exciting period, as we were often driven to think outside of our usual toolbox. indeed, sometimes we were forced to think the unthinkable, as we realized that in crisis situations the accepted wisdom is not always wise. even more importantly for our purpose, we all came to realize that in our globalized world “ no country is an island. ” international interrelationships are today so strong that no country can go it alone in the open seas. this has led to enhanced international efforts to coordinate through both existing and new arrangements. the international financial institutions have played a catalytic role here. we must acknowledge this and thank them for it. the institutions themselves accepted that the magnitude of the crisis was such that it could not be addressed by any of the actors acting alone. the european bank coordination initiative started just a little over a year ago as an ad hoc effort to stabilize the flow of funds to a few economies in central and eastern europe. it has now attained the stature of a successful coordinating mechanism, which is worth keeping and, when appropriate, replicating in other parts of the world. this initiative of ours has achieved an admirable coordination between the official and the private sector. the mere fact that so many diverse actors were brought together to act in a con

howard lee : opening remarks - project sela report launch conference opening remarks by mr howard lee, deputy chief executive of the hong kong monetary authority, at the project sela report launch conference, tel aviv, 12 september 2023. * * * andrew ( deputy governor of the bank of israel andrew abir ), benedicte ( head of the bank for international settlements ( bis ) innovation hub hong kong centre benedicte nolens ), ladies and gentlemen, good morning. opening firstly, i would like to extend a heartfelt thanks to the bank of israel for hosting this event and for their warm hospitality. we're in the conference center of the tel aviv stock exchange, and i must say, it is a privilege to announce the successful completion of the first joint research project between the hkma and the bank of israel from such an iconic venue in front of a high - profile audience. as you have already heard, the name " sela " was chosen to symbolise the collaborative efforts between the hkma and the bank of israel because, besides indicating an ancient israeli coin, it means " rock " in hebrew, thereby referring to the hkma's legacy in central bank digital currency research, which began in 2017 with project lionrock. for those of you who are not familiar with hong kong, the lionrock is the most recognisable mountain in hong kong. this mountain, as you can probably guess, is shaped like a lion. but it's neither its shape nor its height that made it famous, but the folklore over the past decades that today make it the symbol of the " can - do " spirit of hong kong and of its ability to turn complex challenges into opportunities for growth and development. after several months of enthusiastic collaboration and this visit, i can confidently say that this is the same spirit that i can find in this " start - up nation ". hkma's cbdc research besides having a relevant name, project sela also focused on a highly relevant subject for central banks : central bank digital currencies, or cbdcs. the research into cbdcs is a priority for many central banks worldwide, and for a good reason. the digitalisation of currency has the potential to revolutionise financial systems, redefine transaction processes, and even reshape economies. given these profound implications, at the hkma we have been extensively involved in cbdc research at both the wholesale and the retail level, in order to future - proof our