the rt hon sir edward george gbe : recent uk economic developments against the background of world economic activity speech by the rt hon sir edward george gbe, governor of the bank of england, at the chartered institute of bankers in scotland biennial dinner at the exchange, held on 15 january 2001. * * * mr president, lord provost, my lords, ladies and gentlemen, this is the fourth occasion on which i have been honoured to be invited to speak at this great biennial dinner of the oldest institute of bankers in the world ; and it gives me particular pleasure this evening to join you in celebrating your 125th anniversary. on the three previous occasions i have been able to report to you steady progress of the overall uk economy, but then, as a central banker brought up to look for the dark side of the moon, i ’ ve gone on to discuss the prevailing risks and uncertainties and to pose the question : can that steady progress be maintained? i will adopt the same format this evening. since your last dinner in 1999, we have in fact, come through the short, sharp, shock to the world economy, associated with the emerging markets financial crisis, relatively unscathed. our own economy has now grown continuously quarter by quarter for over 8½ years at an average annual rate of 3 %, which is well above most estimates – at least until recently – of a longer term trend rate of 2¼2½ %. retail price inflation ( on the government ’ s target measure ) has averaged 2. 7 % over this period, and has in fact been marginally below the 2½ % target for much of the past two years. short - - term interest rates – which went up to 12 % ( and tentatively even to 15 % ) before we left the erm in 1992 have been stable at 6 % for the best part of a year. helped by a decline in inflationary expectations, uk 10 year government bond yields have fallen, to around 4¾ % which, apart from a brief period at the beginning of 1999, is the lowest they ’ ve been for nearly 40 years. they are now just about as low as in any major industrial country with the exception of japan. and the number of people in work has recently been at an all - time high in the uk as a whole - and close to its high point in scotland ; while the rate of unemployment, on a claimant count basis, is at a 25 - year low, both in the uk as a whole and in

amando m tetangco, jr : the growing significance of rural banking in the philippines keynote address by mr amando m tetangco, jr, governor of the central bank of the philippines ( bangko sentral ng pilipinas ), at the inaugural reception of rbap board of directors and officers, manila, 8 july 2008. * * * secretary arthur yap, mr. tomas gomez iv, board of directors and officers of the rural bankers association of the philippines ( rbap ), our friends in rural banking, good evening. i am delighted to have this opportunity to keynote the inauguration of the new directors and officers of the rbap. it is, indeed, an auspicious new day for the rural banking industry. seeing the new set of directors and officers at rbap ’ s helm, i am certain that you will provide the impetus needed for the rural banking sector to once again forge ahead. rural banks have an important and challenging role in our country ’ s economic development. in the law that created rural banks, they were envisioned to be catalysts for comprehensive rural development, channels of equitable distribution of opportunities and wealth, and support for expanded productivity in rural communities. the end goal was to raise the quality of life for all, especially the underprivileged. this task of great magnitude is relevant today, as it was then. in fact, with the shifts in the economic landscape, the increasingly changing needs of the market, the advent of new technologies and channels, it may be said that the demand on rural banks today is even greater than it was then. rural banks must commit to continuously upgrade their capacity, efficiency and sustainability. rural banks must uphold good governance and management practices to ensure that they are sound and well managed. finally, rural banks must be dynamic and progressive to keep in step with these changes and developments. i am happy to note, that by all measures, the rural banking sector has geared up to face the challenges and to seize the economic opportunities they present. year on year, rural banks are exhibiting robust asset growth and strong capital build - up. as of end 2007, the sector ’ s total assets reached php 149. 5 billion, an 18 % increase from the previous year. total capital accounts have also shown double digit growth of 13. 4 % from php 18. 4 billion in 2006 to php 20. 9 billion in 2007. the capital adequacy ratio ( car ) has remained above the minimum 10 % required by the