plenderleith : developments in the gold market speech by mr ian plenderleith, deputy governor of the south african reserve bank, to the london bullion market association biennial dinner, london, 26 october 2004. * * * i want first to thank you very warmly for the chance to join you this evening. it is a particular pleasure for me because, having spent the main part of my career in the city of london at the global centre for gold trading, i now find myself back up the supply chain working in the country that is the leading global gold producer. so it is a great privilege for me to join this notable gathering of the glitterati of both camps, so gracefully hosted by the london bullion market association. arriving this morning from south africa, where summer on the highveld is now in full bloom, to the cold, damp, gloom of an english october dawn was a salutary reminder of the realities of globalisation. but, as evidenced by the attendance here this evening, globalisation is no new phenomenon for the gold market. gold has been a global monetary asset since at least the days of king croesus of lydia whose habit of sprinkling gold dust on his food made me look rather carefully at the salt and pepper on the table this evening ; and gold has been a store of value and a source of beauty in artefacts for a lot longer. it is by recognizing the global nature of the gold market that the lbma has been able to raise its act in promoting and serving the gold market around the world, and in the process help strengthen london ’ s position as the pre - eminent international financial centre. that lbma membership has this year exceeded the 100 mark reflects the value it is delivering, and i want therefore to pay tribute to the excellent work lead by simon weeks, your chairman, jeremy charles, your deputy chairman, stewart murray, your chief executive, martin stokes, your immediate past chairman, and their team of dedicated committees and staff. their efforts have, for example, helped the good delivery list remain the world standard of bar quality : the procedures the lbma have put in place for pro - actively monitoring the list are a welcome and successful initiative in ensuring that technical standards are maintained. the lbma ’ s contribution to strengthening the regulatory framework, and the steps it has taken to improve the transparency of market data, are also welcome progress towards meeting modern market standards. alongside these initiatives, the lbma ’ s information and educational

kenyans as spelt out in the kenya banking sector charter of 2019. banks should not just provide banking services, but should ensure they meet the needs of customers while also being aligned to environmental, social and governance considerations. in the context of the actions to reverse the climate crisis, we aspire for a world where all financial services are green. three milestones have been reached in this journey. first, in 2015, the kenya bankers association ( kba ) launched the sustainability finance initiative ( sfi ). the sfi aims at raising awareness on environmental, social and governance risks and financing within the banking sector. kba has set - up a comprehensive online training designed to enable banks to create long - term value for the economy, society and the environment. currently, all 38 banks are participating and over 30, 000 bankers have so far been enrolled. second, in january 2020, the first corporate green bond in east and central africa of ksh. 4. 3 billion was issued by the acorn group and listed at the nairobi securities exchange ( nse ). the bond was also admitted on the international securities market ( ism ) segment at the london stock exchange ( lse ). the proceeds were used to build environmentally - friendly housing for university students. third, in november 2020, kenya ’ s largest bank, kcb bank, was accredited by the united nations green climate fund ( gcf ) as the first financial intermediary for the implementation of green financing in east africa. gcf is the world ’ s largest climate fund, mandated to support developing countries raise and realize their nationally determined contributions ( ndc ) ambitions towards low - emissions, climateresilient pathways. while acknowledging these milestones, a lot more needs to be done to green kenya ’ s financial system, and issuance of the guidance will quicken the journey for the banking sector. over the next one - and - a - half years, cbk will walk with banks to build capacity and integrate climate - related risk management in their day - to - day operations. in turn, this will attract global funds that are looking for opportunities to finance initiatives that build climate resilience, and thus positioning kenya as a premier green finance hub. for kenya and other countries, the time is now to build a truly sustainable financial system that works for and with the people. ultimately all financing should be green. the stakes are high. there is no planet b. dr. patrick njoroge is governor of