At the statistical close of this Report (28 August), the peso/dollar parity was somewhat above CLP660, 5.5% higher than at the close of the previous Report. In the days that followed the peso has depreciated further vis-à-vis the dollar. However, in multilateral terms the depreciation has been milder, even with an appreciation against other emerging and commodity exporters' currencies, reflecting the greater relative strength of the Chilean economy. The real depreciation of the peso has been lower (near 1% since the previous Report). As a working assumption, the baseline scenario of this Report continues to assume that, in the course of the policy horizon, the real exchange rate will go back to its averages of the last fifteen to twenty years (Figure 7). As for domestic credit, local financial conditions are still good, in line with the ongoing expansionary stance of monetary policy. Accordingly, the interest rates of many segments stayed low and credit growth remained limited. However, it is worth mentioning that commercial rates increased again, in a context where qualitative indicators report increased demand and more accommodating supply (Figure 8). For the moment, the higher risk perception has translated into a limited revision to global growth prospects, with decelerating growth rates in 2019 and 2020. By blocs, the outlook for developed countries does not differ from that in the June Monetary Policy Report. Instead, in the emerging countries the downward adjustment in Latin America stands out, especially Argentina and Brazil. Add the expected slowdown in China (Table 2).
Zeti Akhtar Aziz: Transforming the East Asian insurers – time for action now Keynote speech by Dr Zeti Akhtar Aziz, Governor of the Central Bank of Malaysia, at the 26th East Asian Insurance Congress “Transforming the East Asian insurers – time for action now”, Kuala Lumpur, 30 October 2012. *  *  *  It is my great pleasure to join you this morning at this 26th East Asian Insurance Congress. It was almost 24 years ago in 1988 that Malaysia hosted this event. Since that time, the global and regional financial and economic landscape has been dramatically transformed. During this period the world has also experienced more than a hundred financial crises, with the recent global financial crisis being the most severe. This has prompted wide ranging financial reforms by the international community to strengthen the resilience of the financial sector. The enhancements to the regulatory and supervisory frameworks have also had a far reaching and fundamental impact on how insurers manage risks in their businesses. In this highly dynamic and more challenging global environment, the insurance industry has continued to evolve and develop with the broadening of the product range and greater diversification of the distribution system. In Malaysia, the insurance industry, including the Takaful sector has also progressed significantly during this period, both in terms of growth and development. In this more recent decade, the penetration rate, as measured by the number of life policies to total population, increased significantly to 55 percent, from 31 percent in 2000.