Our governance framework has lost much credibility that must now be carefully reacquired. BIS central bankers’ speeches  5  Here, particular responsibility rests with the national authorities. In particular, the European governance framework will function best if national finance ministries conscientiously perform their role with respect to multilateral surveillance. The sovereign debt crisis has taught us unequivocally that – in spite of the no-bail-out clause in Article 125 of the Treaty – the euro area countries are not insulated from one another. In an integrated single European market with a single European currency, spillover effects from one Member State to the other should make us all take a strong interest in the pursuit of sound fiscal and structural policies by our European partners. Because of the close integration of the European economies, governments have also set up a European crisis resolution mechanism, the European Stability Mechanism. Its purpose is not, as some have argued, to bail out euro area countries that have failed to pursue sound economic policies. Its stated purpose is to safeguard financial stability if one or more countries endanger the euro area as a whole. Conclusion To conclude, the ECB’s policies have been guided by price stability considerations, with policies targeted at those elements of the crisis that threatened to prevent it from fulfilling its mandate. Responsibility for the resolution of the sovereign debt crisis rests with the governments of the euro area Member States.

The Government of the Republic of Zambia (GRZ) recognizes that the limited access to financial services and low number of products available to the different sectors of the economy has hindered the development potential of Zambia’s economy. There is need therefore, to revitalize the financial sector so that it meets the challenges of accelerated and sustained investments in key sectors of the economy. Recent developments in the financial sector world-wide offer some encouragement that working together could extend the range and reach of financial services that are available to our people. Still a lot remains to be done to extend financial services to the majority of our people and foster ongoing sustainability of our financial institutions. It is against this  BIS Review 131/2008  1  background that Bank of Zambia found it necessary to hold this Conference to deliberate on the topical concept of Islamic Banking under the theme “Building Partnerships for Development”. The main objectives of this conference are to get a general understanding of the operations of Islamic Banking and to share views on promoting partnership for development through Islamic Banking, draw lessons, and recommend strategies for implementing Islamic Banking in Zambia in order to improve access to financial services. The rapid growth of Islamic Banking raises a series of important questions, such as whether Islamic Banking should be regulated differently from conventional banking. Because modern Islamic Banking is relatively new to most countries rules for financial accounting, bank governance, and lending standards are continually evolving as business practices are refined.