At Friday’s Global Policy Forum (GPF) Princess Máxima of the Netherlands, the UNSG’s Special Advocate for Inclusive Finance for Development, addressed AFI members. Princess Máxima stated that she was inspired that AFI members are at the forefront of innovations in policy, regulation, and supervision, often leap-frogging many of the traditional developments that have occurred in developed country banking sectors. She went on to cite examples from the Philippines, Kenya, Brazil and Mexico.

Princess Máxima’s key message to AFI members was that there are no trade-offs between financial inclusion and financial stability and that these two elements are mutually reinforcing. She also reported that, as the UNSG Special Advocate, she has conveyed the complementarity to the Basel Committee to inform their review of the Core Principles.

Financial inclusion contributes to financial stability through a broader savings base and diversified loan portfolios, and financial stability helps financial inclusion when services are delivered to the poor through diverse, strong and stable institutions. Pointing out that financial inclusion and stability also demand good data, Princess Maxima also encouraged members to continue to accelerate national data efforts as well as contribute to global efforts, such as the G20’s Global Partnership sub-group on data and measurement.