electronic payments system. we want to see a system that is reliable, secure and efficient, and meets the needs of australians. it is one year now since the new payments platform ( npp ) was launched. over 2½ million australians have registered payids and the banks are progressively adding functionality to the system. many people are already benefiting from faster and more flexible payments. we have, however, been disappointed that some of the major banks have not met the originally agreed timelines. this delay has, regrettably, slowed the pace of innovation in the overall system, given the substantial network effects that exist in payment systems. late last year, i wrote to the ceos of the major banks on behalf of the payments system board expressing our concerns and seeking a commitment that the updated timelines will be satisfied. it is important that these commitments are met. notwithstanding these delays, i remain confident that the npp will provide the backbone for substantial innovation in australia ’ s payment system for years to come. thank you very much. my colleagues and i are here to answer your questions. 4 / 4 bis central bankers'speeches

exchange rate appreciations have begun to act now to curb the depreciation of their currencies. brazil, for example, announced an intervention amounting to 60 billion dollars by the end of the year, while india has introduced capital controls to grapple with the sharp fall in the rupee. an important risk we highlight in this report is an intensification of financial volatility and the slowdown in the growth of emerging economies. in chile, the effects of this greater international volatility have so far been limited and have manifested mainly in the depreciation of the peso and a stock market downturn. another important source of risk that we consider in this report is related to china. as we have mentioned time and again, the evolution of this economy concerns us not only for its importance as driver of global growth, but also for its impact on exports from chile and, in particular, the price of copper, since china is the largest copper consumer in the world. in recent times there have been doubts about the situation of their financial system, especially after the strong growth in bank credit and non - bank intermediation from 2009 onwards. another source of risk is the behavior of oil prices because of the geopolitical situation in the bis central bankers ’ speeches middle east. moreover, although there are encouraging signs from the eurozone, risks remain associated with its complex political, fiscal and financial outlook. these external risks are important enough for us to evaluate that chile ’ s economic growth risks are biased downward. the challenges from abroad are diverse, but as we have mentioned several times, the chilean economy is well prepared to face them. as a country we have worked for years in strengthening a solid institutional framework with an economic policy scheme based on inflation targeting and a floating exchange rate, with a fiscal rule, a well regulated and supervised financial system, and trade and financial openness. as we have said on other occasions, our scheme of inflation targeting and floating exchange rate allows us to better cope with fluctuations in international markets. the float facilitates early and flexible adjustment of relative prices to changes in the external environment and prevents distortions in the decisions on external financing and exchange - rate hedging of companies and financial institutions in chile. the recent depreciation of the peso is going in the right direction to help the economy to adjust. furthermore, the credibility of the inflation targeting framework grants flexibility to the central bank to make changes to the monetary policy and the cost of credit if so required