KUALA LUMPUR – The newly-launched Financial Sector Blueprint 2022-2026 represents a significant opportunity for the entire financial sector to come together and build a stronger economy.
Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM) deputy governor Datuk Abdul Rasheed Ghaffour said the financial sector is entering the blueprint from a position of strength and it is now the right time to truly push for the boundaries of finance.
“An uncertain environment calls for enhanced dynamism on the financial sector, (where) a financial industry is able to proactively and effectively lead its own developmental journey and respond to challenges.
“To foster effective market dynamism, competition and innovation are important recommendations.
“In this regard, our strategies in digital space lead to enhanced existing pathways, such as our regulatory sandbox for digital innovations to test, scale and exit,” he said during a panel discussion session titled ‘Financial Sector Blueprint: Charting The Path Ahead Together’, at the virtually-held My Fintech Week 2022 on January 24.
Abdul Rasheed added that the central bank is also committed to supporting the market entry of digital players that could address remaining gaps in the financial sector.
He said in the coming years, the focus area would be the licensing of digital insurers and digital takaful operators to promote greater inclusion, competition and efficiency in the industry itself.
Expansion of insurance and protection coverage, including affordable micro insurance and macro takaful products, as well as mainstreaming social finance to help underserved and unserved are some of the key strategies that would be advancing on this front, he said.
“We recognise that finance must ultimately help individuals and businesses, which is why ‘Finance For All’ is one of the three key themes of the blueprint,” he said.
Abdul Rasheed added that partnership between private and public players is also a key feature in the blueprint, more so in the context of digitalisation.
“In the blueprint, we emphasised strategies that seek to strengthen cybersecurity arrangement — for example, promoting development of infrastructure that is interoperable and advancing common standards as well as data governance and privacy principles,” he said.
BNM launched the five-year blueprint which identified five key priorities that would anchor its efforts to promote a financial system that would secure long-term growth, planetary health and shared prosperity.
Governor Tan Sri Nor Shamsiah Mohd Yunus said the priorities are namely funding Malaysia’s economic transformation; elevating the financial well-being of households and businesses; advancing digitalisation of the financial sector; positioning the financial system to facilitate and orderly transition to a greener economy; and advancing value-based finance through thought leadership in Islamic finance.
Read more: Outlook 2022: Sustainable Investment
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