The recent market stability issues resulting from the Covid health crisis has provided an opportunity to ensure there is a good flow of information between authorities and coordinate our approaches where appropriate. As a recent example, in December, the PRA, European Central Bank (ECB) and Federal Reserve Board all published short statements on our respective websites5 highlighting that, recognising the global and interconnected nature of banks, we are committed to working closely to ensure that supervisory approaches on operational resilience are well coordinated. Given the UK’s exit from the EU, I would like to specifically mention the open and supportive relationship we have with colleagues at the ECB and individual National Competent Authorities (NCAs) across the EU. Clearly, the nature of those relationships has changed, both in terms of its legal basis but also how some of the supervisory interactions will work. As Sam Woods noted in his Mansion House speech, we will double down on our cooperation efforts to ensure good relationships continue. The good news is that we have agreed a range of tools to facilitate this, from Memorandums of Understanding to information exchanges and supervisory colleges. Given this and the long history of building relationships with Home State authorities, we are confident our relationship with the ECB and the NCAs will continue to develop and deepen. Robust and proportionate requirements for international firms  Having talked about our expectations of supervisory cooperation, let me turn to what we expect from international firms.
But the ongoing recovery of the global economy from the Covid-19 pandemic and associated restrictions will provide support to economic activity. The financial sector should grow at least as fast as the overall economy. More importantly, the Asian growth story remains intact, and Singapore’s financial centre is well positioned to support and grow with Asia. The Asian Development Bank estimates that strong exports and domestic demand will drive developing Asia’s growth at more than 5% per annum in the coming years. Demand for financial services typically grows faster than income as the middle class and mass affluent base expands. We are seeing the development of new capabilities which will add more engines of growth to our financial sector. In private markets, Singapore’s private equity and venture capital ecosystem is providing smart capital and business networks to the rapidly expanding pool of growth companies here and across the region. In wealth management, Singapore’s thriving family office ecosystem is helping wealthy Asian families to professionalise the management of their wealth and support their growing interest to invest for impact, as wealth is transferred to the next generation. In insurance, new capabilities are being developed to provide risk advisory services for complex and structural risks in Asia, like cyber-attacks, pandemic, and climate risks. The increasingly pervasive use of technology in our financial sector will be another key driver of growth. Financial institutions in Singapore are making significant investments in technology.