opportunities for education, careers and political representation. however, in many instances the increase in participation in the formal economy has not come with a commensurate level of sophistication in financial literacy. as a result, women continue to face special challenges in their endeavour to be active participants in the economic system. challenges women in asia face in financial literacy let me now turn to discuss some of the challenges faced by women in asia in their endeavour to become more financially literate and financially independent. firstly, with the socio - economic environment in asia changing rapidly, there is greater uncertainty and volatility which represents a challenge even for financial experts. the financial system has also become more complex, with new risks emerging. this increased sophistication thus makes it increasingly difficult for those who are less financially literate to make sound decisions. secondly, the advances in technology has led to a proliferation of financial products and services. there needs to be a greater understanding of the basic concepts and practices of banking, insurance and equity so as to know how to make choices from the wide range of financial products available, and to assess the respective risks, costs and returns. also important is the basic principles of debt management, wealth management and personal budgeting to be able to understand the importance of long - term savings in funding future requirements. financial literacy involves being able to identify and understand the opportunities for income generation, access to funding, and learning how to make the most of the range of financial products available. it also involves learning how to manage financial risks in an environment where the financial infrastructure may be under developed. this may relate to the laws and procedures in the country. also important is the need to be able to recognize illegal schemes and other exploitative practices such as predatory lending. thirdly, while women in asia are being less stereotyped and given greater opportunities for entering into the economic mainstream, nonetheless the working conditions for women in many countries have tended to be less favourable. the exploitation of labour in the informal sector in some instances are particularly bad, not only for women, but also for children and minority groups. women who are disadvantaged in this manner have found it difficult to escape from the trap of indebtedness. frequently, the disadvantaged and those who are not able to access the formal financial system have resorted to the informal financial systems. recourse to these financial sources have also been due to the lack of awareness. these may be in the form of deposit schemes that entail high risk,

. the gap reflects the sovereign debt tensions and the consequent unevenness of monetary policy transmission in the diverse economies of the area. other conditions being equal, an increase of 100 basis points in the yield spread between ten - year italian and german government bonds tends to be reflected in an increase of about 50 basis points in the average rates on loans to firms in italy after one quarter and fully after a year. in september, the banks ’ total funding, excluding eurosystem refinancing, was down by 2. 6 per cent from twelve months earlier. the difficulty of raising funds, particularly acute between the summer of 2011 and last spring, has regarded foreign deposits – almost entirely interbank deposits – and bond issues on international wholesale markets. in recent months, however, we have begun to see signs of a recovery, including in the uncollateralized segment ; total issues have amounted to €11 billion, of which €8 billion unsecured. in periods of strain the decline in fund - raising on the market has been offset by greater recourse to eurosystem refinancing ( which has increased by €250 billion since may 2011 ), thanks to which italian banks can cover the wholesale bonds falling due in 2013 – 14. in more recent months, with the general improvement in market conditions, central bank lending to italian banks has stabilized. retail funding remains a strong point of italian banks. italian households ’ deposits grew by 3. 7 per cent in the twelve months to september, and substantial subscription of bank bonds by retail investors continued. loan quality is worsening. in the second quarter of this year, the ratio of adjusted new bad debts to loans outstanding rose to 2. 1 per cent, returning to around the end - 2009 level. the bis central bankers ’ speeches deterioration involved loans to firms, the default rate on which reached 3. 2 per cent, with a high of over 6 per cent for construction firms. preliminary data indicate that the deterioration has not halted in the last few months. by contrast, the default rate on loans to households remained stable at 1. 2 per cent, relatively low by the standards of the past. in june of this year gross impaired loans ( bad debts, substandard and restructured loans and overdue positions ), three quarters of which involved firms, amounted to 12. 3 per cent of total bank lending ; in 2007 the figure had been 5. 1 per cent. taking into account the write - downs already made,