This was perhaps the response to rising income inequality, as emphasized by Rajan (2010), and the lack of other policies to correct this problem in a fast and efficient way. Ironically, the crisis affected more intensely precisely those that were supposed to benefit from “financial inclusion.” There are many other cases in which well intentioned developments are implemented through weak policies. Take the case of interest rate ceilings. In order to promote fairness, many countries introduce limits on the interest rate on loans. This policy attempts principally to protect people with disadvantages and allow them to participate in the financial system. If this ceiling is set low enough, it may end up generating exclusion rather than lower financial costs for households, who may end up paying much higher interest rates in informal credit markets. This is not the place to analyze all the causes and culprits of the crisis, but it is worth discussing certain aspects that are frequently singled out by the general public. First and foremost, the crisis was caused by the irresponsible behavior of the financial industry. The structure of incentives was unsuitable. It led to excessive risk-taking without proper risk management. Compensation was heavily biased towards deal-making, regardless of the quality of the deals. Commissions and fees were a very important component of the compensation scheme. In the end, all that mattered was granting credit indiscriminately, maximizing packaging and selling securities, etc. This was at the foundation of the originate-and-distribute model of financial services, and served to increase leverage to unsustainable levels.
Ladies and gentlemen, The second challenge is in forging strong collaboration and cooperation among key stakeholders and overcoming the collective action problem. When it comes to costly and difficult action, we always prefer others to do it. Ministries, government agencies, policymakers and regulators must therefore set aside their differences and work for the greater good, consolidate their strength based on their shared values and work collaboratively to develop and bring creative ideas for sustainable development into fruition. Initiatives need to be driven beyond personal motivation and belief. Strategies need clear milestones with clear accountability by stakeholders. Sector-specific approaches need to converge to limit risks of a disorderly transition. The journey of sustainability is therefore one that is best navigated collectively. We have to come together to support joint and coordinated responses to mitigate unsustainable practices. For the Malaysian financial sector, the formation of the Joint Committee on Climate Change was an important milestone in pursuing collaborative actions for building climate resilience. A key mandate of the Joint Committee is to facilitate collaboration between key stakeholders in advancing coordinated solutions to address arising challenges and issues. This is in addition to building industry capacity, and identifying issues, challenges and priorities facing the financial sector in managing the transition towards a low carbon economy. The third challenge that we face as a developing nation is in balancing sustainability and competing socio-economic priorities, given our limited resources for transition to low-carbon economy.