SIFMA (2017) “2017 Fact Book”. 8  All speeches are available online at www.bankofengland.co.uk/speeches  8
The constantly increasing employment of digital strategies by banks which has been boosted further by the pandemic and the banks' increasing dependence on IT infrastructures raises the need and the requirement to constantly enhance their protection against cyber threats. According to the Bank of International Settlements as well as the International Monetary Fund the financial sector ranks high in frequency of cyber security events when compared to other sectors and these events have tripled over the last decade. The interconnectedness of the financial system means that a successful attack on a major  2/5  BIS - Central bankers' speeches  financial institution may spread rapidly through the financial system with potential adverse effects on the stability of economies. In addition to the risks mentioned above, banks are also facing increasing competition emanating from new entrants in the market. For example in Cyprus, there are currently 15 authorised electronic money institutions and 10 authorised payment institutions. But that number is likely to change dramatically. There are currently at the Central Bank of Cyprus 44 pending licencing applications (33 EMIs and 11 PIs), which is twice the figure compared to the applications pending only a year ago. Notably, this number is significantly higher than the 11 local and foreign authorised banks and subsidiaries in our country. In the last few years, payments services regulation has allowed a number of payment institutions to make use of the banking industry's interfaces for accessing payment service users' accounts online.