This leaves the Bank with its traditional responsibility for maintaining the stability of the financial system as a whole, but transfers our present specific responsibility for banking supervision to a new, single, regulator for the whole of the financial services industry. The Bill now before Parliament legislates for these changes insofar as they affect the Bank and it also changes the arrangements for the Bank’s internal governance and puts our finances on a statutory footing. The new legislation does not fundamentally alter the Bank’s raison d’etre - our core purposes. The heart of it remains the maintenance of monetary and financial stability, as well as the promotion of the effectiveness and efficiency of the financial system. But it brings new clarity to our responsibilities, and it ensures greater transparency and public accountability in relation to all our activities. It is in fact a radical re-styling of the Old Lady. And tonight I should like to introduce you to the New Lady, and explain just what it is that the new-style Bank of England is seeking to do and how we are organised to manage our affairs. Governance of the Bank Let me begin at the top with the changes to our governing body - the Bank’s Court - or Board - of Directors. We already have a heavily non-executive based board, consisting of myself and the Deputy Governor, four full-time Executive Directors, and twelve non-Executive Directors. The new Court will be entirely non-executive apart from myself and two Deputy Governors.
They are expected to adhere to ethically-driven values that reflect Shariah principles. They should be regarded as the true exemplars of Islamic finance. In short, they are the embodiment of what is good about Islamic finance. The establishment of CIIF is therefore a significant milestone in our collaborative efforts to raise the bar for professionalism and ethics in the industry. We aspire for CIIF to become the global body for professionals in Islamic finance. As we envisage CIIF as the leading driver and advocator of professionalism and ethical conduct, we should expect the new body to adopt global best practices of similar professional institutions. BIS central bankers’ speeches  1  CIIF will embark on a task that is both revolving and rewarding. A key imperative for CIIF to advance in its quest, as the advocator of the highest degree of professionalism and ethical conduct amongst Islamic finance professionals, is for the professional body to receive strong and continuous support and recognition from the industry. The industry cannot be a passive player. It must be an activist. Together with CIIF, it must be a strong advocator of professionalism and ethics. The signing of a first of its kind industry-led charter between The Association of Islamic Banking Institutions Malaysia (AIBIM), Malaysian Takaful Association (MTA), The Malaysian Investment Banking Association (MIBA) and CIIF is a very strong reflection of the industry’s support. This public commitment by AIBIM, MTA and MIBA acknowledges the noble intent of CIIF.