like pension funds and insurance companies that need long - term assets to match their liabilities. they also include mutual funds and, perhaps, regular individuals looking for a fixed - income investment that pays more than a regular guaranteed investment certificate. there is some momentum in canada toward developing a private mbs market. however, for these securities to be successful investments, they must be designed carefully. after all, many people remember that mortgage - backed securities were at the heart of the sub - prime debacle that preceded the global financial crisis over a decade ago. a private mbs market in canada would need to be transparent to give investors more confidence about the quality of mortgages they are investing in. this would allow investors to accept a lower yield, reducing the price difference with regular cmbs. one way to ensure transparency is to develop a public database of mortgages used in securitization. ideally, this database would include general characteristics about the borrower, property and loan, and data on how the loan has performed over time. an anonymized database would also preserve the privacy of the mortgage holder. it is worth pointing out that other jurisdictions, including the european union, the united kingdom and australia, already have this type of arrangement in place or are working toward it. we hope that all financial institutions in canada, from the big six banks to the smallest credit union, will co - operate here. after all, such a database could benefit all institutions, not just those that might issue mbs. if institutions can use the information to show how solid their mortgages are, they could lower their funding costs, no matter how they obtain their funding. new mortgage designs? the last idea i want to discuss is the design of the mortgage itself. in its most recent budget, the federal government announced the creation of a shared equity mortgage, to be administered by cmhc. the final details will be put in place later this year. this proposal is intended mainly to address housing affordability for first - time homebuyers by giving them an interest - free loan to add to their down payment. the plan will also promote increased housing supply. another interesting aspect of the plan is that it should help improve the resilience of the financial system and improve the economy ’ s ability to adjust to shocks. although there are many possible variants, this type of mortgage has been analyzed in some depth by two us economists, atif mian and amir sufi. basically, the idea is a rewrite

a broader range of individuals and institutional investors. for islamic banks, the iap creates a differentiated product that presents a new source of income and funding profile. there is also the potential for institutions with specific mandates including government agencies to strategically collaborate with the iap and islamic banks to form public - private partnerships to facilitate the efficient channelling of grants or funding and to facilitate financing opportunities for identified strategic ventures. the role of the iap that is launched today is envisaged to transcend beyond our domestic borders to become an effective channel to further enhance financial interlinkages in the regional and global economy. it can also be enhanced to become a multi - currency investment platform to provide a marketplace for local and international investors to invest in real economic activity and projects denominated in various currencies and financed by islamic banking institutions from different jurisdictions. this will be a first of its kind shared global platform for islamic finance. in facilitating cross - border transactions, the iap will also contribute towards drawing new foreign investors while also allowing for participation in the financing of projects outside the country. the iap, together with the existing components of financial intermediation will form a more complete, and yet mutually complementary financial ecosystem. to ensure its success, there has to be greater awareness and understanding on the key features of the iap and its embedded mechanisms by all the stakeholders. of importance is for islamic banks, investors and entrepreneurs to have a clear understanding on the risk and return relationships that are embedded in the variations of shariah contracts used in such investment account products. expectations need to be aligned with the various approaches adopted to managing these relationships according to the contractual and operational requirements. it is also paramount for islamic banks to uphold the best practices in the conduct of discharging their fiduciary duties and in performing its administration. of importance is the required due diligence, performance monitoring, suitability assessment and investment management. this would ensure that the iap is always a trusted medium of investment that is transparent and competitive in providing a seamless experience for investors. this would address the concerns of investors on the risks associated with the asymmetry of information. such features would contribute towards strengthening the ability of the iap to attract a wider range of investors, therefore enabling the platform to cater for different types of risk profiles of the different ventures. this shared infrastructure for advancing the delivery of the investment account product offerings represents an important platform to take this proposition forward. i wish to congratulate the six financial