fmcbg meeting page 3 of 5 to the acceleration of digitalization in payments and financial services. the new sources of finance and new payment channels can help to make headway with financial inclusion, but there is also a shared understanding about the risk of new forms of exclusion that needs to be adequately addressed. digital infrastructures, financial and digital literacy, and customer protection are all necessary and complementary elements that will play a part in shaping the transformation towards a more resilient and inclusive financial system, leveraging the opportunities offered by technology. we all agreed that the g20 has a shared responsibility to facilitate a more equal and widespread access to responsible financial products and services as an essential pillar to support strong, sustainable, balanced and inclusive growth. finally, concerning work on climate - related issues, a consensus was reached on an important new initiative as finance ministers and governors agreed to relaunch the sustainable finance study group chaired jointly by china and the us ( and possibly transform it into a working group ). a detailed work plan of the group will be session ii - first g20 fmcbg meeting page 4 of 5 finalized in the coming weeks. the fsb will also work on data availability and disclosure standards for companies. we are now ready to take your questions. session ii - first g20 fmcbg meeting page 5 of 5

which a low interest rate environment extends for a long time into the future cannot be ruled out, it is important to assess its possible impact on financial institutions in order to identify the appropriate responses. the main vulnerabilities for life insurance companies and pension funds would result from maturity and yield mismatches between assets and liabilities. as identified by the 2014 stress test conducted by eiopa, a low interest rate scenario could put under particular pressure the profitability and resilience of insurance companies with long - term guarantees and negative duration gaps, leading to shortages in their solvency capital ratio. the risk is significant in some euro - area countries ; it may be less marked in italy, thanks to a fundamentally balanced financial structure. to mitigate profitability concerns, life insurance companies and pension funds will have to adapt their business strategies. so far, actions taken by insurance companies have differed bis central bankers ’ speeches depending on whether they are related to new or existing products. for new contracts, there is a general trend to offer lower or no guarantees and develop other types of products, including unit linked policies, in which the risk is held by policyholders and beneficiaries. this is also a response to the new solvency ii prudential regime, which requires additional capital for guaranteed products. for existing contracts, the main actions consisted in reducing the shares of returns distributed to policyholders and, where legally feasible, the renegotiation of contract terms. as far as retirement savings are concerned, the persistently low market yields have strengthened the tendency, already established, to replace defined benefit schemes with defined contribution schemes. the mechanisms to mitigate the risk of the underfunding of defined benefit schemes vary across national jurisdictions ; they include increased capital buffers, additional sponsor support and guarantee funds, as well as the reductions of accrued benefits. from a regulatory viewpoint, the introduction of solvency ii for european insurance companies is a major turning point. the new regulatory regime is a valid tool for mitigating portfolio risks. some provisions were introduced in solvency ii to dampen the impact of interest - rate volatility on insurance companies ’ balance sheets, such as those related to the parameters for the extrapolation of risk - free interest rates at very long - term maturities and other measures that are meant to smooth the transition to the new prudential regime ; such provisions may also reduce the impact of a prolonged situation of low interest rates. the scope for portfolio diversification has been