I would like to take this opportunity to thank everyone in our banking community for maintaining services to your customers during these extraordinary times. The speed and agility you have demonstrated in delivering the relief measures has been particularly impressive. The resilience and resourcefulness of our banking sector put us in a strong position to handle the challenges that lie ahead. 5. Despite the ongoing geopolitical tensions, I have no doubt that Hong Kong will continue to perform its special role as an international financial centre. China remains the engine of global economic growth and the biggest provider of savings. The Mainland’s opening of its financial sector continues to offer new opportunities for the rest of the world, and Hong Kong is at the nexus of it all. While our banks must continue to stay resilient against the many challenges of our times, they also need to prepare themselves for new opportunities emerging from the transformations now unfolding in our region. 6. In today’s conference we are invited to look beyond our present difficulties, to envision a ‘Brave New World of Banking’ in an age of ‘Innovation and Transformation’. I congratulate HKIB on choosing such a forward-looking topic – one to which I have also been giving a great deal of thought. Taking up this theme, I will discuss three big transformations that are already happening, and talk about how the industry and how we at the HKMA are responding to them.
These taxonomies help mobilise capital by reducing the need for financial institutions to conduct their own assessments of environmental impact. At present the two leading taxonomies are those recently developed by the Mainland and by the European Union. The two taxonomies differ in some important aspects, including definitions of economic activities eligible for green investment. Such differences could present impediments in tackling what is a global challenge: this has particular relevance for Hong Kong, which is a regional hub for global institutions committed to responsible investment. 24. It is therefore gratifying to know that in May this year, the Mainland authorities have taken important steps to reconcile some of the critical differences between the two taxonomies. For example, clean coal is no longer considered green in the revised bond catalogue. We 3/5  BIS central bankers' speeches  expect more harmonisation work to be done by the two sides, though this may take a bit of time. 25. We are making progress on “harmonisation” within Hong Kong, too. This year, the HKMA, together with other financial regulators and relevant Government bureaux, formed the Green and Sustainable Finance Cross-Agency Steering Group. The Steering Group has two main aims: to co-ordinate management of climate and environmental risks to the financial sector; and to help accelerate the growth of green and sustainable finance in Hong Kong.