harmed access to credit by small businesses, and if the disruptions continue to be resolved in an orderly manner, will be unlikely to do so in the future. for example, the current turmoil has centered on securities backed by nonconforming residential real estate loans and loans or other debts of relatively large firms ; so - called collateralized loan obligations ( clos ) and collateralized debt obligations ( cdos ). because, as i discussed earlier, the securitization of small business loans is still quite modest, we would not expect turmoil in the markets for securitized assets to have a large direct effect on small business lending. in addition, it is the relatively large banks that are deeply involved in the loan securitization markets and that have sometimes chosen to conduct a significant portion of their business through so - called conduits, many of which have contracted rapidly in recent months. in contrast, it is the smaller banks that specialize in " relationship finance " to small businesses. nbsp ; these banks are relatively unaffected by disruptions to the securitization markets. thus, once again, we would expect that the direct effect of current events on small businesses would be limited. indeed, the data we have on business lending at small banks show that such loans have continued to expand at a fairly robust pace through mid - october. such data and our conversations with bankers suggest that, at least to date, the supply of credit to small businesses remains healthy. although these arguments and evidence are encouraging, recent events have nonetheless almost surely had some negative effects on small business access to credit, and we cannot rule out further effects. we know that risk premiums embedded in interest rates have increased across a wide range of debt instruments, that credit standards have tightened for most types of lending, and that investors are continuing to reassess both the risks of and the prices they are willing to pay for assets they are considering adding to their portfolios. because loan terms, both risk premiums and credit standards, had previously been unusually low, in many ways these are welcome and healthy developments that, over the longer term, will produce a more efficient and stable financial system. but for many borrowers, including some small businesses, these developments also mean that credit now is, and will probably continue to be, less available and more expensive than it was a few months ago. recent surveys have found evidence that the market for small business credit has tightened. for example, the federal reserve's

. next steps 15. the central bank of nigeria is very pleased to be partnering with the gates foundation and looks forward to the next phase of the project. it is imperative that going forward, a determination is made of additional information that may be relevant to our inclusion and regulation efforts that are not already accounted for in this round. 16. other non - conventional financial access points should be captured and included in the report such number of people and value of transactions that pass through motor parks, markets and such other hubs where financial activities are carried out to help determine the general level of activities in the informal financial sector. conclusion 7. in conclusion, i believe that we are taking a very important step here today and the partnership between the central bank of nigeria and the bill and melinda gates foundation will go a long way in ensuring that our efforts to realize the targets set are a success. i look forward to a continued collaboration. thank you. bis central bankers ’ speeches