In this connection, it should be noted that a large part of the adjustment in banks’ earnings in the first half of this year is due to the provisions made in advance for credit impairment  6  that has still not materialised, but will do so in the coming quarters. Specifically, Spanish banks have set aside almost double the amount of provisions they recorded in the same period of last year. This has significantly reduced their profitability, but it has also raised their capacity to absorb credit impairment, something that is particularly highly valued by investors in these circumstances. The message I wish to convey is that banks should persist with this early recognition policy, as it will subsequently facilitate their ability to continue to perform their function of providing financing to the economy. In short, especially if the crisis proves to be prolonged, banks must ensure proper and timely recognition of effective impairment of the quality of their credit exposures through compliance with supervisory guidelines. Global banking regulation  Fourth, I would like to reflect on global banking regulation. As I mentioned earlier, the Basel reforms phased in over the last decade have attempted to incorporate into regulation the lessons learned during the global financial crisis. The first phase of the Basel reforms began in 2010 and was completed through a second wave of changes published in 2017. The initial phase was aimed at raising the level and improving the quality of banks’ microprudential regulatory capital.
Jessica Chew Cheng Lian: Generating new solutions for remittances in Malaysia Remarks by Ms Jessica Chew Cheng Lian, Deputy Governor of the Central Bank of Malaysia, at the Launch of Project Greenback 2.0 Kota Kinabalu, Kota Kinabalu, 4 March 2018. * * * It is my great pleasure to be here today for the launch of the Greenback 2.0 Project in Kota Kinabalu. First of all, on behalf of Bank Negara Malaysia, I would like to thank Dewan Bandaraya Kota Kinabalu for agreeing to host this Project. We are sincerely honoured by the presence of YB Datuk Hajah Jainab at today’s launch event. And of course, the World Bank has been a truly committed and equal partner in this project with Bank Negara Malaysia, and as we concluded our collaboration in Johor Bahru last year, we are excited to begin another chapter in this journey together with the World Bank. Kota Kinabalu is Malaysia’s second remittance champion city and only the third champion city for the Greenback Project in Asia. Through the project, our aim is to help more people living and working in Sabah remit moneys whether for business or personal purposes, safely and at lower costs. To achieve this, we want to provide people in Sabah with information, with access and with the confidence to use remittance services. And we want to encourage more competitive remittance services in Sabah that will better serve the community. You may ask what is the significance of being a champion city?