jenifer sullivan : welcome - 28th information and communication technology subcommittee annual meeting welcome by ms jenifer sullivan, second deputy governor of the central bank of seychelles, at the 28th information and communication technology subcommittee annual meeting of the southern african development community ( sadc ) committee of central bank governors, beau vallon, 13 february 2023. * * * mr francis selialia, head of ccbg secretariat mr pedro manjate, ict subcommittee chairperson, ms magreth tjongarero, bcm chairperson ict directors, representatives of sadc - ccbg secretariat, distinguished participants, ladies and gentlemen, bonjour, bom dia, good morning and a warm welcome to seychelles. on behalf of the central bank of seychelles, it is an honour to officially welcome you to the 28th annual meeting of the sadc committee of central bank governors ict subcommittee and the bcm parallel meeting. the 28th annual meeting, which will take place over the next five days, is the first in - person meeting of this forum after the covid19 pandemic, with nevertheless the option to connect virtually to allow engagement with a larger audience. the nature of the pandemic has had a positive impact on the wider adoption of technology to streamline processes and facilitate interactions during periods when faceto - face contact was limited. many institutions, including central banks, have been quick to leverage the opportunities presented to get stakeholder buy - in and fast - track modernisation projects. however, with the adoption of technology hastened by the pandemic, new opportunities for cyber - attacks have emerged, which may affect a central bank's ability to carry out its functions, and pose a risk to financial stability. fortunately, until now, such incidents have not had severe implications for our institutions. however, these happenings are becoming more frequent and sophisticated in a backdrop where most of our central banks are planning or implementing other digital transformation projects. hence, our institutions including those we supervise must remain resilient, for example, by strengthening security controls, prioritising ongoing training, undertaking simulation exercises, and cooperating with authorities to share intelligence and experience. from an organisation perspective, business continuity, risk management, information security, it and other personnel need to foster a shared purpose of risk awareness and heighten our business continuity preparedness. like many of you, in response to the pandemic, the central bank of seychelles adopted a new way of working from home, made possible through virtual private network technology

addition to the present regulatory structure within the eu. what i have in mind is an institution with real resources and not a “ talk shop ” primarily designed to build consensus. conclusions let me summarise. during the last decade, the banking sector has increasingly become cross - border. we should welcome this rather new form of financial integration as it enhances competition and stimulates economic growth. this development also raises challenges for the regulatory community. our answer to these challenges should not be increased protectionism. instead, we need to find new forms for cooperation and supervision that allow the benefits from integration to be realised. today i have presented to you my thoughts on the need for a special body with the mission to supervise the major european cross - border banks. since this proposal to some probably seem rather radical and not very conceivable in the shorter term, i have advocated a gradual approach. in my view, the time has now come to set up the modalities for achieving this goal. the reason why i have chosen a european focus is simply that there are already institutional arrangements in place which can be used as a platform for bringing us closer to the goal of supra - national supervisory frameworks. in my view though, the underlying challenges of financial integration are of a global nature. therefore, even if it may not be possible to achieve the same solutions outside europe, it should be of wider international interest to at least move in the direction of enhanced cooperation between supervisory authorities. i hope that i have been saying here today can serve as inspiration for further discussions on this issue. considering that financial integration is already widespread and that the process of revising present regulatory structures will most certainly be demanding and protracted, we need to get to work. returning to what i said in the beginning, history shows us the importance of having proper regulatory structures in place. therefore, it would be highly unfortunate if the appropriate measures have not been taken before the next major financial crisis occurs. for once, it would be encouraging to see pre - emptive policy actions rather than a crisis being the catalyst for such actions. thus, in the same way as the international community is facing increasing challenges to cope with the negative externalities in the environmental area, the financial regulators have to face the consequences of financial integration. it is my hope that we as regulators show enough courage and determination to tackle the negative externalities a potential financial crisis would entail – before it hits us. let me finish by saying that the issue of financial