, we will ensure the system works with that technology, however it evolves. we are ensuring that the next generation of rtgs service creates a world - leading payments landscape for the uk. we can also be a catalyst and a convener for broader developments. we have been working with the fintech sector, a sector we previously had little to no interaction with. as the bank ’ s executive director for banking, payments and financial resilience, andrew hauser, highlighted here in cambridge late last year, our engagement in the fintech sector has improved our familiarity with fintech products, concepts and firms, and also given fintech firms insights into the emerging questions and needs central banks might have, as policymakers, regulators and operators. in recognition, the bank won ‘ initiative of the year ’ last month from central banking, for the work we did with firms working on new and emerging financial technology. interacting with these innovative disrupters has reminded me that there are reasons to be optimistic about productivity growth in the longer - term, stretching beyond the horizon relevant for monetary policy. we are here in cambridge, home to silicon fen. the city is home to around 1700 science and technology companies, including over 200 biotech companies and a large array of science infrastructure. a survey by our agents across the uk last year suggested that the biggest positive driver of investment intentions was the desire to achieve future efficiency gains. one feature of the drive for efficiency gains has been investment in automation, ai and robotics. according to the oecd, meanwhile, the density of industrial robots in the uk is one of the lowest in the oecd. although this doesn ’ t appear to be a positive news story, it demonstrates the potential the uk has to increase the quantity and quality of capital intensity. investment hauser central banking office for life sciences oecd all speeches are available online at www. bankofengland. co. uk / speeches in new technologies could indeed support a pickup in productivity. and on that positive note, i look forward to the panel discussion and your questions for us. all speeches are available online at www. bankofengland. co. uk / speeches references bell, j ( 2017 ) ‘ life sciences industrial strategy : a report to the government from the life sciences sector ’, 30 august 2017, available at : https : / / www. gov. uk / government / publications / life - sciences - industrial - strategy carney, m. ( 2016 ) opening remarks at the

in may. currently the snb is providing a total of 12 billion us dollars of liquidity to its counterparties through bi - weekly auctions of six billion dollars each. these repo transactions will continue to be renewed until conditions improve. for switzerland, the motivation for participating in this coordinated action is twofold. first, our counterparties obtain easier access to dollar liquidity. second, money markets in different currencies are highly interrelated. fewer tensions in the dollar market also mean fewer tensions in the swiss franc market. the federal reserve ’ s swap line is only the most visible result of the intense cooperation between central banks that has taken place since the outbreak of the crisis. in general, international consultation among central banks has proved very useful in managing the financial market crisis. a further important action taken by central banks was the introduction of facilities that allow banks to swap collateral that is less liquid for securities that are highly liquid, such as government bills. in march, the federal reserve introduced a term securities lending facility ( tslf ), which allows to lend up to usd 200 billion of treasury securities to primary dealers in exchange for a broad range of collateral, including asset - backed securities. in april, the bank of england introduced its “ special liquidity scheme ”, a new facility which allows banks to temporarily swap their mortgage - backed and other securities for uk treasury bills. the aim of these collateral swap facilities is twofold : first, balance sheets of financial institutions become more liquid, and second, the prices of the collateral are indirectly supported, as fire - sales of such assets accepted as collateral become less likely. an attractive feature of collateral swaps is that they leave the amount of central bank money unaffected. they support liquidity in the banking system without driving short - term money market rates below the policy target. furthermore, the size of these operations can, potentially, be very large, since there are almost no limits as long as the treasury provides the securities or the central bank can issue its own bonds. the single most far - reaching action by a central bank in the crisis so far, however, was the federal reserve ’ s decision to facilitate the takeover of bear stearns by jpmorgan, in that it took over risky assets in significant quantities. by stepping in, the federal reserve put an end to a disorderly de - leveraging process on the part of highly interconnected financial institutions, and probably made a crucial contribution to defusing the third and most recent wave of the