per cent in 2000 - 01, before declining back to 6. 7 per cent in 2001 - 02. thus, the impact of fpc for the states amounted to approximately 0. 4 - 0. 6 per cent of gdp ( a cumulative impact of 1. 0 per cent over the two - year period ). the combined impact of the centre and states, thus, approximated to around 1. 0 per cent of gdp ( a cumulative impact of 3. 4 per cent ). in order to absorb the impact of fpc, the government envisaged to bear it through a combination of additional resource mobilisation and expenditure reducing measures. however, as alluded to above, there was a decline in the tax - gdp ratio in the late 1990s, which exacerbated impact on the government finances. looking forward, assuming that the scale of the impact of the spc to be similar to fpc in proportionate terms, the pressures on expenditures may amount to about 1. 0 per cent of gdp per annum for the centre and states combined, spread over a 3 - 4 year period. unlike the prevailing situation during the fpc, the spc implementation would be undertaken when the economy is witnessing high tax buoyancy – the tax - gdp ratio of the centre has increased by 2. 6 percentage points to 11. 3 per cent in 2006 - 07 ( re ) from 8. 8 per cent in 2002 - 03. in the interest of continuing with the growth momentum, it is essential that the impact of the spc be absorbed without impairing the process of fiscal consolidation. in view of the buoyancy of direct taxes and service taxes at the central level, and of vat at the state level, there is an opportunity this time to accomplish this at both central and state levels. continuation of efforts at improving tax compliance, renewed efforts at containing subsidies, and levy of appropriate user charges to augment non tax revenues, would all need to be used to comply with the frbm. as regards the prospects for the private corporate sector, there are incipient signs of some deceleration in the growth of net profits from the strong pace of the past four years ; nonetheless, growth in corporate profitability still remains buoyant and is well - above the nominal gdp growth. at the same time, cognisance needs to be taken of growing competition, both internal and external, in the domestic economy. furthermore, the early benefits of reforms reaped by

brian wynter : promoting financial inclusion through public education and awareness remarks by mr brian wynter, governor of the bank of jamaica, at the jdic financial markets symposium, kingston, 29 august 2013. * * * moderator ; minister peter phillips ; mr thomas, chairman of the jamaica deposit insurance corporation ; ms mckain, ceo, jdic ; special guests, colleagues, ladies and gentleman, good morning. today, we are “ promoting financial inclusion through public education and awareness. ” according to the united nations, more than half the population of developing countries in 2010 was financially excluded. in the case of jamaica, the world bank ’ s global findex indicates that, for 2011, about 71 per cent of jamaicans had some form of access to banking services. this is a lot better than the average of 57 per cent for latin america and the caribbean but, clearly, we can do more to improve the ease of access to financial services for jamaicans and promote more active and appropriate use of financial services for the un - banked and the under - banked. so, while i am delighted to bring greetings to the jdic on this occasion marking their 15th year of operation, bank of jamaica is especially pleased to have the opportunity to join in partnership with jdic, the financial services commission, and the jamaica stock exchange, to host this financial markets symposium and fair. it is generally thought that, through increased access to financial services, the financially excluded can better undertake business activities, manage risks, and build financial security. financial inclusion thereby helps to reduce poverty and improve economic opportunity ; it promotes inclusive growth. so what are the elements of financial inclusion, and how do they intersect with the work of bank of jamaica and jdic? financial inclusion broadly refers to the offer of goodquality financial services to the unbanked in a timely manner, at affordable prices, and through appropriate, effective channels. a recent popular channel for this type of delivery has been low cost technologies such as mobile phones. some of the more prominent models of this form of service are to be found in the philippines, kenya, pakistan, and mexico, and we in jamaica are making progress on our own models, with the release by bank of jamaica of the retail payment services guidelines, and the mobile money pilot project by development bank of jamaica, that is currently in train with the approval of bank of jamaica. the introduction of credit bureaus is another important element in improving access to credit. one of the two