Having sound and resilience finances is especially critical in navigating through the current challenges such as rising cost of living and periods of low return on nonfinancial assets. And these challenges are on the back of depleting buffers for some of the households given the hardship experienced during the pandemic. Importantly, beyond ensuring the ability to sustain their wellbeing in the face of financial adversity, strong finances allow individuals and households to take reasonable risks, to invest and engage in economic activities. It allows individuals to take opportunities for growth to achieve their full potential, and this not only contribute to enhancing their productivity and livelihood, but also add value to the nation. On this note, it is important to recognise the need for concerted efforts in supporting Malaysians to build resilience as we emerge from the economic crisis. In tandem with efforts by the public sector, financial industry and other organisations, Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM) is also committed to educating the public and, in inspiring and instilling sustained behavioural change through our Financial Education Network initiatives. For those of you who are not familiar, the Financial Education Network, or FEN is an inter-agency platform of eight partners comprises two Ministries and governmentrelated agencies including BNM. FEN is committed in raising the level of financial literacy in Malaysia. MFPC is listed as FEN's partner that supports FEN's initiatives.
Lars Heikensten: The Riksbank and the euro Speech by Mr Lars Heikensten, Governor of the Sveriges Riksbank, at the Society of International Treasurers Convention, Stockholm, 17 June 2003. *  *  *  Let me begin by thanking you for the invitation to come here and speak on the subject of EMU. Approximately three months remain until 14 September when the Swedish people will vote on whether to participate in monetary union. In the event of a “yes” vote, Sweden will enter monetary union in 2006 and introduce the euro as its currency. The right of determination over our interest rate level will then be transferred to the European Central Bank (the ECB). On the other hand, a “no” vote would generally imply “business as usual” for the Riksbank. Today, I will be speaking about some of the implications for the Riksbank and our operations in the event of a “yes” vote in the referendum. I will begin by speaking about the preparatory phase, that is, from 14 September until 1 January 2006, during which time preparations will be conducted in the Swedish economy for a changeover to the euro, and the krona will join the exchange rate mechanism, ERM2. Subsequently, I will talk on the issue of monetary policy as it will be conducted by the ECB and point to differences as well as similarities with how it is conducted today. Thereafter, I will touch upon the effects of a changeover on our work with financial stability.