Consumers would benefit from a wider offering of products and services at competitive prices. Taking a more strategic and proactive approach to development Third, we adopted a more strategic and pro-active approach to developing the financial sector. We actively went out to attract new business here. For institutions already in Singapore, we tried to anchor them more firmly, and encouraged them to expand and introduce new activities here. BIS Review 62/2002  1  Enhancing monetary policy effectiveness Finally, we had to enhance the effectiveness of our monetary policy. Free capital flows and complex derivative products had made it impossible to completely insulate the Singapore dollar against attack. Our approach had been to operate an inscrutable monetary policy and impose comprehensive restrictions on non-resident borrowing of Singapore dollars. This was not only becoming untenable, but was also hampering the growth of our financial markets. We needed a more explicit and transparent monetary policy stance, and more precisely targeted safeguards against the risks of internationalising the Singapore dollar. III. The changes in the financial and economic landscape  We launched these major changes just as the Asian Crisis was breaking. But we did not foresee how difficult the next five years would be. Southeast Asian countries became mired in political difficulties triggered by the crisis. Malaysia dismissed its Minister of Finance and imposed exchange controls. Indonesia saw the fall of the Suharto government, only to be succeeded by a totally different dispensation.
At our monetary policy assessments in June and September, we indicated we would also consider selling foreign currency depending on the development of the exchange rate. Accordingly, we have sold foreign currency in recent months to ensure appropriate monetary conditions. We will also sell foreign currency in the future if this is appropriate from the monetary policy perspective. Conversely, we remain willing to buy foreign currency again if necessary, i.e. if there were to be excessive appreciation pressure. Ladies and gentlemen, thank you for your attention. I now hand over to Martin Schlegel, who will speak about the latest developments with regard to cash. Page 3/4  Berne, 15 December 2022 Thomas Jordan  News conference  Page 4/4