competition and help in the most efficient allocation of capital that will help develop greater productivity of resources and contribute to growth in our economy. develop a national financial literacy strategy for fiji? the importance of financial literacy to our nation cannot be underestimated, particularly when it supports and promotes a range of government economic and social policies such as financial inclusion. in this regard i am pleased to announce that work has already begun on formulating a national financial literacy strategy for fiji. a consultant is working with the pacific financial inclusion program to conduct a financial competency survey. the survey is expected to be carried out in the first quarter of 2011 and will determine the level of financial competency of low income households and the results will assist the financial literacy working group to form the basis of a medium term strategic plan to strengthen financial literacy in the country. we are aware and commend the different organizations out there that are already conducting financial literacy programs for their target clients. we would like to see more programs made available to the different age groups and sectors of our communities. for example there is a lack of awareness on retirement planning and this will need to be addressed as the fiji national provident fund has announced major policy changes relating to workers retirement fund. concluding remarks let me wrap up by informing you ladies and gentlemen, that fiji, like any other developing country, is currently reviewing and reforming its financial sector to make it a locomotive for growth and development. the national financial inclusion taskforce shares government ’ s vision to have more of our people in the informal sector to move into the formal sector so that they can all actively contribute to economic activity that will create employment and prosperity for all our people. it is through initiatives such as improved financial literacy that will enable our people to make informed decisions, plan and work towards improving their livelihoods. however, the task of imparting financial knowledge and competency will require the support of all stakeholders in the private, public and ngo ’ s. we have taken the right approach in establishing the national financial inclusion taskforce and its supporting working groups. the challenge is ensuring that information is available in an easy to understand language and is accessible to those who need it so that we will realize the goal of developing a financially literate society. we can all contribute to financial literacy this week by encouraging our families, friends and colleagues to join us in learning and talking about financial literacy within their different groups. ladies and gentlemen, a nation – whose people save, spend and invest wisely is a robust and

reliance on external credit ratings. let me say a few words on how the ecb itself uses ratings. in practice, for the large majority of marketable securities ( such as sovereign bonds ) the eurosystem credit assessment subject to approval by finnish parliament. bis central bankers ’ speeches framework mainly uses the ratings issued by eligible credit rating agencies. at the same time, the eurosystem does not mechanically rely on these assessments, as it is aware of the limitations of methodologies. it reserves the right to reject or limit the use of an asset on the basis of any information on its credit quality that it may consider relevant. the eurosystem has applied such discretion to temporarily suspend the application of the minimum rating requirement to debt instruments issued or guaranteed by some euro area governments following eu / imf adjustment programmes. thank you for your attention. bis central bankers ’ speeches