in one scene hanuman is captured by ravan ’ s minions and his tail is set on fire by covering it with oil and cloth. hanumanji started growing his tail until his captors had run out of oil and cloth, while they were frantically trying to get more cloth, hanuman employed the opposite tactic and shrunk his size, and released himself from his chains. he then flew off and with his tail still burning used it to set fire to ravan ’ s city of lanka, thereby reducing it to ash. this is just one example of how lord hanuman used ingenuity to fulfill his mission and serve lord rama. so what does this have to do with strength and stability and the central bank? i mentioned earlier the ramayana is a great hindu epic ; there are twists and turns, villains and heroes. the financial crisis this country experienced five years ago can be described as epic as well. there have been villains who through greed and avarice took what was not theirs to take, just like ravan took sita. unlike ravan, however, some of our own local demons are yet to get what they deserve and to be brought to justice. bis central bankers ’ speeches the central bank is the silent servant of the people of this country, doing what it takes, putting creative, new measures in place, to move our country onto a better financial path. like hanuman was willing to serve lord rama with unwavering devotion, so too the central bank is devoted to ensuring financial stability for all our citizens in trinidad and tobago. whether we are undertaking new approaches to supervision of the financial system, or putting in place new financial legislation, the central bank, like hanuman, is prepared to be strategic and creative in securing victory over the financial difficulties raging around us. we will not be fatigued in this quest, and in our mission to bring the financial rakhshas ( demons ) to justice. ladies and gentlemen, we often sell our country as multicultural, but while it sounds nice to say, how much do we really do to celebrate our cultural diversity. as an independent national institution, i firmly believe that the central bank must celebrate all of our culture and all of our people ’ s talents. it is for this reason, for the first time in its forty nine - year history, the central bank supported ramleela this year. ramleela is considered the oldest and largest open air theatre in the caribbean. it provides an opportunity for people to

delicacy prepared and used in the worship of lord hanuman. i understand from our corporate communications department, there were many calls and emails from our vigilant staff, who pointed out that we had made a mistake and had spelt roti wrong in the posters for the event. although we explained to staff that we were talking about roat, not roti, many were simply convinced our corporate communications team was just atrocious at spelling and we were going to teach them how to make roti. bis central bankers ’ speeches this story is meant to remind you of why we see the need to continue to support our culture. there is always something new to learn and that is one reason why central bank will continue to stage these events for the public and staff. as i close, i want to repeat the one message i hope you remember as you leave here tonight, and i will turn to the ramayana one more time. after ravan ’ s defeat, lord rama asked hanuman how he would like to be thanked for his services. hanumanji answered, “ my lord, let me spend the rest of my days in your service. ” that summarizes the fundamental work of this bank and what we do – spending our days in service to our people. that is the central bank of trinidad and tobago. i do hope you enjoy the rest of the show and your evening with us, especially the unveiling of our divali display on the ground floor. jai shree hanuman! bis central bankers ’ speeches