in many sub - saharan african countries economic growth has returned to pre - crisis levels, but growth prospects will depend on a sustainable recovery in the global economy. recent political instability in the middle east and north africa region, and the resulting rise in oil prices, coupled with rising food prices, pose significant challenges to the economic outlook in the sub - saharan africa region. various groupings of financial authorities and international standard setters, including the group of twenty forum, the basel committee on banking supervision and the financial bis central bankers ’ speeches stability board are actively contributing to initiatives to create a stronger international regulatory framework. at the same time, countries have responded by reforming national regulatory systems. the roles and responsibilities of central banks in regulating and supervising financial systems have been extended in some jurisdictions. principles are being developed to deal with the “ too - big - to - fail ” moral hazard problems and to increase the capacity to absorb losses of systemically important financial institutions. in addition, regulatory gaps are increasingly being closed in various jurisdictions by extending the regulatory perimeter to include hedge funds, private equity funds and rating agencies, and more transparency and accountability in the derivatives market are envisaged. it is trusted that these initiatives will contribute to a more stable global financial system. in south africa, despite positive signs of economic recovery, high levels of unemployment continued to place a damper on activity in the domestic financial system. nevertheless, the banking and insurance sectors maintained high - quality capital and liquidity buffers well above the minimum prudential requirements, and remained profitable. gross loans and advances increased in december 2010 compared to a year ago, albeit at a moderate pace. the rising trend in the growth rate of impaired advances seems to have peaked and indications are that it may start to decline in the near future. the high levels of capital inflows that featured in many emerging economies in 2010 and that created significant policy challenges for south africa, reversed somewhat in the fourth quarter of 2010. this trend continued into 2011 as non - residents became net sellers of local currency bonds and equities. the way forward will depend largely on the future recovery of the global economy and the unfolding events in europe. recent tensions in the middle east and north africa countries, the substantial impact on oil prices, and developments in japan, together with increased prospects of further monetary policy tightening in advanced economies, will be developments of which to take note. although household debt to disposable income remained at elevated levels and the profile of credit - active consumers worsened

##tm. the eight specific risks highlighted are as follows : ( 1 ) the risk of fraud or scams among crypto participants ; ( 2 ) legal uncertainty about custody practices, redemptions, and ownership rights ; ( 3 ) crypto companies claiming they carry deposit insurance ; ( 4 ) volatility in crypto asset values ; ( 5 ) run risk from stablecoins ; ( 6 ) the risk of contagion from interconnected crypto participants ; ( 7 ) practices that may be unfair, deceptive, or abusive, contributing to significant harm to retail and institutional investors, customers, and counterparties ; and ( 8 ) risk management that lacks “ maturing and robustness. ” board of governors of the federal reserve system, “ federal reserve board issues policy statement to promote a level playing field for all banks with a federal supervisor, regardless of deposit insurance status, ” news release, january 27, 2023, https : / / www. federalreserve. gov / newsevents / pressreleases / bcreg20230127a. htm. board of governors of the federal reserve system, “ agencies issue joint statement on liquidity risks to banking organizations resulting from crypto - asset market vulnerabilities, ” news release, february 23, 2023, https : / / www. federalreserve. gov / newsevents / pressreleases / bcreg20230223a. htm. - 10 assess and manage the liquidity risks of their funding sources. as the statement makes clear — and as has been obvious throughout the last few months — crypto sector depositors may have assets that can be affected by volatility in the sector. this volatility can lead to unpredictable, rapid, and correlated deposit inflows and withdrawals, and thus the liquidity risks of their deposits, of course, require some additional attention. these liquidity concerns are particularly acute for banks that have a meaningful portion of their balance sheets funded with such deposits. again, we took these steps to make clear that we have the same expectations for all the institutions that we supervise and which seek to engage in novel activities. these expectations are not new. we expect supervised entities to ensure that they conduct their activities in a safe and sound manner and in compliance with all relevant laws, including anti - money - laundering laws. these public statements are transparent and provide the same information for everyone, including for small banks that may not