But these are facts of life that hopefully should not stand too much in the way of progress for the benefit of all in the longer term. It is also a fact of life regrettably that minds do not normally become adequately focused until they are jostled by damaging crises. 8. There are of course the multilateral institutions like the IMF and the Bank for International Settlements (BIS), and a number of international groupings of experts, who have a clear mandate or a keen interest in, among other things, promoting international monetary co-operation. They have been invaluable in providing the necessary support and guidance to monetary co-operation in Asia. 9. Nevertheless, some in this region have felt that such support and guidance, particularly from the multilateral institutions, have been less forthcoming than they would have liked, comparing for example the support given to Thailand with Mexico. They also feel that the special circumstances and interests of economies in the region have not been adequately taken into account. Nor do their voices count for enough. 10. Whether or not this feeling is justified, one consequence is for regional initiatives to surface. This is no bad thing and perhaps the pragmatic way forward, given the need realistically to address regional disparities in financial markets, infrastructure and degrees of financial liberalization.
François Villeroy de Galhau: Digital innovation - what role can we play as central banks? Speech by Mr François Villeroy de Galhau, Governor of the Bank of France, at the Singapore Fintech Festival, 8 November 2021. * * * Ladies and Gentlemen, It is always a great pleasure for me to have the opportunity to speak at the Singapore Fintech Festival, and I wish to thank Ravi Menon and the Monetary Authority of Singapore for organizing it. Although I am joining from Paris today, I look forward to coming back to Singapore soon to continue exchanging. Innovation may not be the first thing that comes to mind about central banks. After all, our institutions have been around for quite some time: MAS just turned 50 – and I take this opportunity to congratulate this golden Jubilee –, and Banque de France is more than 2 centuries old. We are more associated with stability than disruption… Yet the blossoming of digital innovation has the potential to transform the financial system in its entirety. We have to embrace these changes, but there are also things that we need to preserve in this process: the stability of the financial system. Innovation and stability can appear as contradictory in the short run; but they are complementary through a common value; a keystone: trust. Trust of the public in money. To be implemented effectively, these dual principles of innovation and stability require a cooperative setting.