my view, we really have none. using other monetary instruments is not an alternative. our efforts to raise exports need to bear fruit sooner rather than later. with exports rising, interest rates will come down naturally and, more importantly, sustainably. i am confident that we can achieve this within the next three years. i wish to thank the commercial banks for their understanding and support in our effort to address this economic challenge more so after december 5th last year. we do we go from here? all i can say at this time is that the economic picture will need to become clearer on the sustainability of our foreign reserves before we can be able to review the existing stance of monetary policy. however, i know that the liquidity in the market place is extremely tight and we expect it to remain so for some time. this puts a lot of pressure on lending rates. therefore, when necessary, the reserve bank will release funds into the system to moderate liquidity and ease undue pressure on interest rates. let me also assure you that our financial system is sound. the comprehensive review of our financial system undertaken last year by the international monetary fund and the world bank confirmed that this is so. concluding remarks finally, i would like to thank mr. mellsop for inviting me here today. i must say that the colonial group has contributed well to the development of the fiji economy. it offers a diversified range of financial services in banking, insurance, property and trusts. it has invested considerably in the provisions of its services and widening its outreach to the community. the group has grown strongly in the last five years. i congratulate you on the opening of your 18th branch. i take this opportunity to wish the colonial team all the best in its future endeavors. official opening i have much pleasure in declaring this namaka branch of the colonial national bank open. thank you.

policy research centre housed at the world bank dedicated to improving financial access for the world ’ s poor. an analysis done in a 2015 rbi committee report on financial inclusion finds that access to finance is, on average, 0. 14 – 0. 16 percentage points higher in india compared with its emde6 peers. these facts uphold india ’ s position as a pioneer and an innovator for many years for a range of financial access initiatives. 23. globally, about 38 per cent of the adult population has no or very limited access to formal financial services. this makes a strong case for poor households to penetrate the boundary of formal finance. loans or savings can help them to accelerate consumption, absorb unforeseen shocks such as health - related issues, make households investment in durable goods, home improvements or school fees ( collins et al., 2009 ). indian policy makers have always emphasized the significance of inclusive finance. our policies like the nationalization of banks, priority sector lending, setting up of regional rural banks and encouragement to co - operatives date back to 1960s and 1970s underlining the fact that inclusive finance was always a national priority. the “ financial inclusion policy [UNK] introduced by the reserve bank of india in the year 2005 helped launch a 100 per cent financial inclusion drive. 24. in doing this, india stands out as one of the few emdes for which the government has a documented financial inclusion strategy that contains specific commitments. as per the 2016 brookings financial and digital inclusion project report on advancing equitable financial ecosystems, countries like philippines, peru and colombia have only now formalized their commitments towards financial inclusion and a big part of the recent progress in financial inclusion in these countries is due to this formal setting of inclusion targets. countries like usa have begun to recognize the impediments to using financial services in the form of expensive minimum balance requirements and high fees ( e. g., for cashing checks ). increasing consideration is now being given to the promotion of an inclusive financial ecosystem by development of regulations to limit the costs associated with access to credit among low - income populations in the u. s. 25. the launch of the pradhan mantri jan dhan yojana ( pmjdy ) program in 2014, one of the world ’ s largest financial inclusion initiatives to date that promotes no - frills accounts, is one prominent example of india ’ s national - level commitment to advancing financial inclusion. foreign exchange reserves management 26. official foreign exchange reserves are maintained in any country