This shift was not driven by any policy but as a consequence of technology providing more convenient ways for us to transact with each other. The shift as I recall has generated very little controversy or political attention. There has been a political response, but this has more about financial inclusion, about ensuring access to a bank account and to “One of the most important forms of currency in England in Henry's time were notched "tally sticks" used to record debts. Tally sticks were quite explicitly IOUs: both parties to a transaction would take a hazelwood twig, notch it to indicate the amount owed, and then split it in half. The creditor would keep one half, called "the stock" (hence the origin of the term "stock holder") and the debtor kept the other, called "the stub" (hence the origin of the term "ticket stub.") Tax assessors used such twigs to calculate amounts owed by local sheriffs. Often, though, rather than wait for the taxes to come due, Henry's exchequer would often sell the tallies at a discount, and they would circulate, as tokens of debt owed to the government, to anyone willing to trade for them. Modern banknotes actually work on a similar principle, except in reverse.” Graeber (2011) 3 The Payments of Wages Act 1960, as amended by the Truck Act. 2  3  All speeches are available online at www.bankofengland.co.uk/news/speeches  3  commercial bank money so that people were not left behind by the change.
However, trade flows among the 13 countries, only amount to 10% of global trade, hence there’s much room for further growth especially as our countries are increasingly inter-connected. 13. We from the public sector have created financial highways to link up our vibrant economies and have found ways to finance physical roads and highways. To recapitulate my message: •  2  Financial integration within ASEAN is targeted to support the large markets of goods, services and financial products in the region. Financing economic activities of ASEAN needs not only strong but also interlinked banks and  BIS central bankers’ speeches  financial institutions. Financing opportunities grow significantly when expanding these linkages to the Plus Three countries. Firms can tap on to various modes of financing in equities and bond markets to expand their businesses to match the growing trade and investment flows. •  The other area is on infrastructure development: While the barriers of tariffs have fallen, trade among us cannot flourish if we are constantly facing infrastructural bottlenecks. The ADB has estimated that Asia has a demand for infrastructure to the tune of $ 8 trillion over ten years. This is where the Asian Infrastructure Fund and the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank come into play to address these bottlenecks and open up vast potentials for development and trade beyond the AEC to Plus Three. Through this, a new regional logistics-based sector is about to take shape. 14.