Households and businesses didn’t have a great deal of choice and opportunity when it came to finance. But look at what’s happened in the past ten years. As banks have been made safer and mechanisms put in place to deal with them if they fail, the too-big-to-fail public subsidy for banks has fallen by 90%.17 It’s therefore no accident that our banking system is now more diverse. In the past year, for example, banks other than the big six have accounted for more than half of new lending to households and all of the net lending by banks to UK businesses. And it’s no accident that our financial system is more diverse. On net, all of the growth of credit to businesses since the crisis has been centred in non-bank forms of debt finance. The lesson: reforms that promote stability can unlock opportunity for the system to serve the economy by levelling the financial playing field. That lesson applies now to our work on climate risks. Our primary aim is to ensure the system is resilient. But by forcing the system to measure, disclose and confront future risks, we could unlock the opportunity for finance to help the economy in its transition to carbon neutrality. See speech by Mark Carney (April 2017): ‘What a Difference a Decade Makes‘.
For the international community, these policies provide a clear signal on the country's seriousness about 2050, despite contributing only 0.7% of global GHG emissions. Along the transition journey, there are risks to manage, and opportunities to be seized. Technology is key. So is finance. Your actions and responses are critical. The partnership between you and your clients is critical. Your clients would need the "How" in terms of new forms of financial instruments – transition finance, adaptation finance and blended finance to name a few. For the SMEs, this goes beyond financing. For instance, they need the "How" in terms of where and how to begin greening their operations, tools to help them understand, measure and track their own emissions profiles. I am delighted and encouraged to see the Malaysian ecosystem and accompanying tools continue to mature. The progress thus far is commendable. But, we must not forget the long road ahead and work still to be done to achieve 2050 in an orderly and just manner. The Bank's experience in engaging with multiple stakeholders offers some insights as to the additional elements needed to further propel our transition. Allow me to share these insights to CAP off our discourse today – that is C for Communication, A for Alignment, and P for Proactivity. 1/2  BIS - Central bankers' speeches  Communication. The economy's transition doesn't just happen in high powered boardrooms and government offices. It happens in the everyday decisions made by households and small business owners.