this combination of a cyclical deposit base, lower inflows of deposits into rural community banks, and growing loan demand from agricultural borrowers has resulted in a greater dependence on borrowed funds to support the recent growth in agricultural lending. approximately one - third of all agricultural banks are highly concentrated agricultural banks, and the number of these banks has declined slightly over the past several years — from 479 in december 2016 to 449 in september 2018. although there are some unique risks and challenges for highly concentrated agricultural banks and their supervisors, these banks also generally remain in sound financial condition. and capital levels and liquidity metrics at most ag banks are generally in line with other banks that do not share these concentrations. while concentrated agricultural banks are currently operating with adequate capital ratios, regulators continue to closely monitor capital levels and to encourage prudent capital planning and concentration risk management, given the potential for unforeseen challenges and emerging risks associated with agricultural lending. with respect to liquidity, as previously noted, rapid asset growth can strain a bank ’ s liquidity position if its funding sources turn out to be unstable. as supervisors, we work with bankers to understand their liquidity planning process, their challenges around attracting deposits, and the risks associated with potentially relying too heavily on noncore sources of funding. we have observed the increasing pressure on community banks to compete for deposits ; however, we still see many community banks overcoming this challenge and effectively competing for deposits in their communities. another key component of all community bank examinations is a focus on asset quality. financial 3 / 5 bis central bankers'speeches indicators for agriculture banks remain at manageable levels as highlighted by the nonperforming agricultural loans to total loans ratio of 1. 36 percent as of september 2018. in addition to the traditional focus on the financial factors related to agricultural lending, the federal reserve has provided examiners with helpful insights into the appropriate treatment of agricultural carryover debt. we understand that bankers need to work constructively with borrowers when problems arise. and this is particularly true for highly concentrated agricultural banks, where maintaining enhanced agricultural credit risk - management practices to facilitate prudent underwriting, early detection of problems, and well - thought - out restructuring plans for agricultural borrowers are imperative to limiting losses and maintaining a sound banking institution. in 2011, the federal reserve also issued guidance to the industry on key risk factors in agricultural lending and supervisory expectations for a financial institution ’ s risk - management practices. 7 this guidance applies in all economic environments,

lesetja kganyago : tribute to the late former finance minister and governor of the south african reserve bank, tito mboweni tribute by mr lesetja kganyago, governor of the south african reserve bank, at the memorial service of the late former finance minister and governor tito mboweni, johannesburg, 7 november 2024. * * * today we paying tribute to a man who had such a profound impact on the lives of the south africans. it has been a tough time mourning my dear friend and carrying out my duties as governor of the south african reserve bank ( sarb ) - an institution he held so dear as our famous governor no. 8. today we are here to celebrate a life well lived. let me once again, on behalf of the sarb, thank the mboweni family for sharing tito with us. he had so much love for you and cherished you dearly. we will miss him dearly. when our paths first crossed in 1990, we were laying the foundations to transform our country into one that would finally be home to all its people. tito, who had recently returned from exile, understood that true economic reform and transformation would be vital to this project - and that, if it did not have people at its centre, we would fail. he carried this conviction through his many roles at the sarb, in government and the private sector. i was fortunate enough to have my career run parallel to tito's across so many years and watched as he lived out this ideal, shaping policy to build the south africa we all longed for. he convinced me to do the same, starting from when he nudged me to quit accounting to pursue economics and play my part. twenty four years after our first meeting, i stepped into the role he held from 1999 to 2009 - a job which might have looked very different had he not taken the mantle of the first black governor of the sarb. when tito became governor, the country was already five years into its young democracy. but the sarb, like other state institutions, was very much shackled to our country's past. its head office in pretoria was viewed as one of the remaining outposts of white nationalism - and for good reason. about 88 % of the sarb's management was white, male and afrikaans. 1 many meetings were unashamedly held only in afrikaans. this lack of transformation irked tito tremendously. in his first months on the 32nd floor he set his sights