It complies with all SWIFT formats and everyone can use this convenient format to transfer messages domestically. We closely cooperate with our colleagues in Belarus and Kazakhstan in coordinating the development of the national payment systems. Some words about countering fictitious transactions. According to our estimates, fictitious transactions have shrunk by about one-third. The monitoring has become more efficient. Fictitious transactions in the non-bank sector are better revealed due to, among other things, our thorough inspections we can implement as a megaregulator. In 2015, quite a few unscrupulous players were swept off the market: 93 banks, 96 insurance companies, 21 non-governmental pension funds, 1,703 microfinance organisations, and 609 professional securities market participants. One of the reasons behind it was servicing the shadow sector of the economy. Looking back at the year, I would like to say that it was undoubtedly challenging with external environment constantly changing for the worse, but for all that we have achieved some important results. First, the economy showed its adaptability, and not a passive one. We can see that new sectors, the whole sectors have managed to grow amid an extremely worsened environment. There were also enterprises in the generally failing sectors which took the new possibilities and show potential for development. Second, the last year clearly signalled that 4  BIS central bankers’ speeches  structural reforms are needed for the economy to return to sustainable growth; and removing internal restrictions is a short-term objective. I am convinced that we will manage it. Thank you for your attention. Thank you.

The recession, which began in 2005, has seen employment leveling off since last summer, but no clear reestablishment of growth. Businesses in a variety of services sectors have contributed to the recovery of jobs in the region, including professional and business services, education and health, and leisure and hospitality, as well as finance. The overall expansion of our private sector is being partially  BIS central bankers’ speeches  3  offset by ongoing losses in manufacturing and construction, where firms in our region are not matching the modest growth seen in jobs at the national level. In addition, state and local government jobs in our district have declined sharply. After holding steady for much of the recession, state and local governments in New York and New Jersey have reduced job counts by more than 40,000. These losses effectively offset about half of the private-sector jobs created over the period. The government job declines were particularly severe in New Jersey and Puerto Rico, and considerably steeper than in the United States overall. Looking ahead, the continued expansion of employment at the national level should have positive effects on many industries in our region. As elsewhere, state and local government will likely be a drag for some time. However, some new detailed job listing data point to an expansion of job openings in a number of key occupations in the region. Finally, despite the overall recovery of employment across much of the region, unemployment rates remain very high.