Under the new regulatory landscape, the relationship between the Bank and the regulated entities, and thus, the supervisory expectations, will change, as the prudential framework evolves towards a predominantly principle-based and risk-based regulatory approach. There will be a greater emphasis on corporate governance, integrity and transparency as the foundations for industry players so as to maintain investor confidence and public trust. Under this environment, it is also envisaged that insurers, individually or collectively, will play a bigger role in developing market conduct standards, fostering fair market practices and improving financial literacy among consumers. Moving forward, as market discipline improves, and insurers and takaful operators are better positioned to implement selfregulation, further deregulation can be expected. A differentiated regulatory approach will increasingly be adopted, where companies that exhibit strong corporate governance and risk management practices will be given greater regulatory flexibility. BIS Review 76/2006  3  Commensurate with the diversity and complexity of products and services, the continuous upgrading of risk management practices, with improvements in governance standards and enhancements of information management systems will be critical. With the impending implementation of the risk-based capital framework, the responsibility for the implementation of sound risk management and market conduct governance, as well as assessment of risks and management of the financial condition of an insurer, will rest increasingly with the Board of Directors and Senior Management of the insurers. Integral to the increased flexibility provided under the new regulatory landscape is the highest standards of integrity and ethics in the industry.

The features of the new logo, which are orange - representing passion for people and the drive for excellence, white - representing commitment to integrity and professionalism, and the squares - representing stability and dependability, are all symbols of the bank’s commitment to growth, prudent and efficient service delivery to our country, as well as customer care. Mr Chairman, since the Guaranty Trust Bank (SL) Limited commenced operations in January 2002 after the successful take over of the First Merchant Bank PLC Nigeria, it has consistently improved its performance and expanded its operations in the country; notably with the establishment of three branches. As at 31st May 2006, Guaranty Trust Bank’s total assets amounted to Le47.05 billion and shareholders’ funds stood at Le5.84 billion. Loans granted to various sectors of the economy have also gone up to Le9.16 billion. All of these are significant and commendable achievements in a short time. Distinguished Ladies and Gentlemen, over the last couple of years, the bank has committed itself to the provision of efficient banking services to the people of Sierra Leone. It has introduced among other things, money gram money transfer, which is one of the fastest means of transferring money into and out of Sierra Leone, and has also introduced mobile banking services. This last development has given its customers the opportunity to access and initiate transactions on their accounts from anywhere and at any time of the day.