Sukhdave Singh: Global economic outlook and financial landscape – what has changed since the global financial crisis? Special address by Dr Sukhdave Singh, Deputy Governor of the Central Bank of Malaysia (Bank Negara Malaysia), at the 18th Malaysian Banking Summit “Global Economic Outlook and Financial Landscape: What Has Changed Since the Global Financial Crisis?”, Kuala Lumpur, 20 June 2014. *  *  *  I would like to thank ASLI for the invitation to address you today. Given that I am speaking right before your lunch, I do realise that I have been cast into the role of an appetiser and therefore, that I should be brief so that you can quickly get on to the main course. I plan to briefly go over the state of the global economy and its implications for the Malaysian economy. The news here is largely good. However, there are a number of concerns that could impact the quality and sustainability of growth going forward, and I will also discuss these. Global economic outlook and the changing financial landscape The good news is that after five years of rather turbulent conditions and what has been a rather bumpy economic ride, the global economy seems to be finally on the verge of sustained growth. The key to this development is the improved growth conditions that have emerged in many of the advanced economies (AEs), economies that were at the heart of the crisis.
How governments deal with this income disparity will not only be reflected in social and political outcomes, but also economic ones as it is the low and middle income groups that have the highest marginal propensity to consume. Similarly, a lack of success in dealing with the high youth unemployment in the crisis affected economies could have lasting consequences and put these young people on a permanently lower earnings path, further contributing to both income inequality and weaker growth. 4  BIS central bankers’ speeches  To conclude, let me summarise my key message: Economically, things are looking better than they have been in a long time. However, the legacy of the crisis remains and will remain with us for some time yet. And this will continue to cloud the outlook and will be a concern and challenge to policymakers as they try to steer the global economy out of the crisis on to a more sustained and sustainable growth path. BIS central bankers’ speeches  5