I also acknowledge each one of you for your attendance. The role of the financial sector in every economy need not be overemphasized. It performs a lubricating role in every economic activity just as oil does in machinery. A critical ingredient for the financial sector to effectively perform its roles is financial stability, which also underpins public confidence in the sector.
This brings me to the role played by KDIC in the financial sector. By being an insurer of bank deposits, its existence encourages depositors entrust their hard-earned savings to the deposit-taking institutions. Unlike the traditional Deposit Protection Fund, KDIC as currently constituted has an additional mandate of ensuring the going concern of its premium payers, the banks.