Going forward, the access to financing for healthcare, education and retirement will reduce the need for high levels of precautionary savings, and thus strengthen further domestic demand in the economy. The fourth imperative relates to ongoing efforts to expand financial inclusion. Financial inclusion has been, and must continue to be, a key component of Asia’s overall strategy to achieve balanced and equitable growth. Indeed, in the advanced economies, there is a now greater focus and attention on expanding financial inclusion to support the strength of recovery. Emerging Asia has achieved remarkable progress on this front. The period of higher growth has been accompanied by lifting millions out of poverty. Asia however still remains the home of two-thirds of the world’s poor. Therefore, much still remains to be done. The imperative is to arrest the widening income disparities and in inequality through providing more households and small businesses with meaningful access to financial products and services, thus bringing them into the economic mainstream. Another is ensuring that as Asia develops, households, particularly in the lower income groups, do not become financially excluded because financial products and services become increasingly unaffordable or complex, or due to practices of financial institutions which increase barriers to access. Finally, Asia is now building on the progress that has been made in strengthening the resilience of our financial systems. Authorities in Asia are at various stages of translating the global financial reform measures into local standards.
Asia is therefore committed to taking the important steps today to ensure our resilience to future shocks and thus secure the stronger foundations for our collective growth and stability. 4  BIS central bankers’ speeches