therefore the number of companies involved is very limited. how do we implement this? we are convinced that it would not be practicable for the snb to examine the conduct of dubious companies itself. in our view, the snb ’ s tasks and competences do not include the filtering - out of such companies. for the implementation, we therefore use analyses by established institutions with relevant experience. these help us to constantly review which companies fulfil the predefined exclusion criteria. you will understand that we do not provide any detailed information on the exclusion procedures or the equities involved. as i mentioned at the beginning, the snb always endeavours to maintain a high degree of transparency and, in this respect, goes further than other central banks, especially when it comes to its investment policy. nevertheless, it is also an established principle that we do not reveal any details about the various external providers whose services we employ in our operations. the same applies to details about the indices we use, or, indeed, the individual securities. such information could trigger undesirable movements in the market, which would go against our principle of ensuring the minimum possible impact on the market. in addition, this information could also limit our investment policy room for manoeuvre and thereby have a negative impact on the investment results. final considerations the nba of 2004 gave the snb new options in investment policy. we used these for a consistent and comprehensive further development of our investment policy. in particular, we significantly improved the risk / return profile of our foreign exchange reserves through a number of diversification measures. as i have shown, our equity investments played an important role in this process. however, although the snb is a large global investor, its main task is monetary policy in the service of the swiss economy. consequently, monetary policy affects both the size of our investments and the criteria and principles we apply in managing them. my comments have bis central bankers ’ speeches shown that the options available to our investment policy are limited in several areas by the primacy of monetary policy. this includes the fact that we cannot hedge currency risks with respect to the swiss franc. these limitations are sometimes reflected in the annual results. even though we have continually extended our investment policy, thereby improving our return options, there have occasionally been years in the past with negative results. this may be repeated in the future. given the current level of our foreign exchange reserves, a small loss in percentage terms can mean a high figure

barry whiteside : brief update on fiji ’ s economy address by mr barry whiteside, governor of the reserve bank of fiji, at the opening of hfc lautoka branch, suva, 20 september 2012. * * * the chairman of the hfc board, mr. tom ricketts board of directors chief executive officer, mr. isikeli tikoduadua management and staff of hfc distinguished guests ladies and gentlemen introductory comments good evening and bula vinaka to you all. i am honoured to be here this evening for the opening of hfc ’ s new lautoka branch and offer my warm congratulations on the company achieving 50 years of service to fiji. i thought to begin with a bit of history as this year marks hfc ’ s golden jubilee year. just over fifty years ago the british overseas development corporation, through its locally incorporated company, the fiji development corporation, partnered with the fijian colonial government to form home finance company limited. the institution, which was registered on 30 june 1962, was reportedly set up primarily to provide government guaranteed assistance for housing to civil servants. coincidentally, it was also in the 1960s that i spent some of my formative years in these very surroundings while my dad served as the post master, lautoka. needless to say, i have many fond memories of this city and its neighborhood areas. hfc – home finance company limited with such a rich history dating back to our colonial days, home finance can lay claim to its fair share of credit for playing a role in advancing fiji ’ s financial system and economic development. three milestones are worth mentioning in the company ’ s history to bridge the past with the present : – • 33 years ago in 1979 the fiji national provident fund first acquired a partial ownership, • 17 years ago in 1995, the government divested its partial ownership in the company and • a decade ago in 2002, home finance company limited rebranded as hfc, launching the vibrant colours we are familiar with today and also diversified markedly from its traditional objective of home loan provider. i have watched the growth of the company with interest over the years, particularly since 2004 when i headed the supervision function at the reserve bank. a decade ago, primarily as a consequence of competitive pressures, hfc rebranded, diversified and repositioned itself. invariably, as is so often seen in various facets of life, as we adapt, change and successfully address a set of challenges, new ones arise. understandably therefore