Ladies and gentlemen, despite our economic stability and growing opportunity in the region, we do acknowledge a moderation in Thailand’s economic growth compared to the period before the Global Financial Crisis. During 2001 – 2007, the average growth rate was as high as 5.4 percent; we are now growing at a more moderate pace of around 3.0 - 3.5 percent on average. While part of the subdued growth can be attributed to external factors such as weak global demand, one cannot deny that longer term structural issues have also played a part in restraining Thailand’s competiveness, productivity, and potential growth. The government acknowledges these problems and has implemented many initiatives. You may have heard of Thailand’s efforts to promote digital economy, R&D, innovation, new s-curve as well as various investments in infrastructure projects, all of which are aimed at uplifting Thailand’s potential growth. But, one area that, in my view, is less frequently discussed is the implication of several new laws on the future of Thailand’s economic and business landscape. The discussion of these laws constitutes the second part of my talk. Ladies and gentlemen, in general, there are three main goals that policymakers want to achieve. First, we want to attain a high level of economic growth to raise standard of living. Second, the growth must be sustainable; there is no point to achieving high growth only to find oneself in a crisis at a later stage.
Meanwhile, the Bank had established a Board of Banking Supervision ‘to advise the Governor on supervisory matters and oversee the implementation of the (reformed) Banking Act’  28  and the supervisory  24  Hall, Maximilian, J.B. Handbook of Banking Regultation and Supervision, Hertfordshire, Woodhead Faulkner, 1993, p.75 Ibid, p.95 26 Kynaston, p.79 27 Hall, p.77 28 Ibid, p.23 25  8  All speeches are available online at www.bankofengland.co.uk/speeches  8  function was further expanded. And this brings me back to the collapse of Barings Bank in 1995, following which a report into the existing supervisory arrangements was commissioned from the (now also-collapsed) Arthur Andersen, which in 1996 set out recommendations to overhaul the Bank’s supervisory approach. What you can see in all this is that supervision is not a static game, and has to move with the times. But there are also some constants. In particular, although we have moved a very long way from the supervisory practices (and hairstyles, other than the resurgence of beards amongst male supervisors) of the 1970s, we have maintained the view of our predecessors that supervision cannot be a narrow, tick-box, compliance exercise, and that judgement plays a key role. Building society supervision  The merchant and trading banks of the City of London were no doubt significant in the world of wholesale international finance. But there was another group – the building societies – that served a critical function in servicing the UK economy, particularly retail customers.