They are attracted not just by work opportunities but also by our cosmopolitan lifestyle, by our thriving cultural – and culinary – scene, and by the spectacular country trails and fine beaches that are so close to the bustle of city life. Crowning all of this is Hong Kong’s geographical and historical role as the gateway that connects China and the rest of the world, and the enormous opportunities that this brings. This is, I think, 1/4  BIS central bankers' speeches  the defining feature that firmly positions Hong Kong as the leading IFC in the Asia time zone. Resilience Resilience is the bedrock of an IFC. In the past quarter-century, Hong Kong has been exposed to a series of crises that have severely tested our financial system — the Asian financial crisis, SARS, the global financial crisis, and more recently the triple whammy of social unrest, geopolitical tensions, and COVID-19 pandemic. Through all of these crises our financial system has emerged stronger. Take the monetary system. The Linked Exchange Rate system has remained rock solid throughout these testing times. Indeed, market confidence in the system has only strengthened over time. At the height of the triple whammy that I just mentioned, we saw continued inflows into the Hong Kong dollar, pushing our exchange rate to the strong side of the conversion zone. Speculators betting against the Hong Kong dollar learned a hard lesson.
Firstly, we understand that the industry is in the midst of finalising a recent independently-conducted Customer Satisfaction Index (CSI) that will be a means to gauge the insurers’ performance against the enhanced insurance industry’s Customer Service Charter which was introduced in January 2018. This survey includes minimum service standards that reflect the guiding principles for good customer service. The results of the CSI survey is expected to be finalised by end-2018. I would urge you to familiarize yourself with the Customer Service Charter of your principal insurers and use it to guide you in your dealings with customers so as to ensure good customer experience. Secondly, the Bank is at a fairly advanced stage of finalising the policy document on fair treatment of financial consumers. This will address the Bank’s increased expectations on financial institutions, including insurers, to cultivate a culture of fair dealing and responsible behaviour. The onus will be on insurers to ensure agents observe new standards to exercise due care, skill and diligence in dealing with financial consumers. We should expect principal insurers to accord greater emphasis on the importance of (1) providing clear and concise product information to customers to enable them to make informed choices, (2) offering products that are appropriate to the customers’ needs and financial circumstances, and (3) providing individualised advice that is in the best interest of the consumer. Let me conclude.