emmanuel tumusiime - mutebile : promoting financial independence in uganda speech by mr emmanuel tumusiime - mutebile, governor of the bank of uganda, at the official opening of uganda finance trust ltd. head office at katwe and unveiling of a new corporate identity, katwe, 30 january 2008. * * * the chairman and board of directors uganda finance trust mdi ltd, the management and staff of uganda finance trust mdi ltd, invited guests, ladies and gentlemen i would like to thank uganda finance trust for inviting me to this auspicious occasion of launching the new head office, and main branch, and the unveiling of the new corporate identity of uganda finance trust ltd. i congratulate the board, management, and staff of uganda finance trust on these achievements. today's event is truly significant in the history of uganda finance trust as an institution and as a strong player in the microfinance industry. having been the pioneer microfinance institution which was started by a group of professional women in 1984, uganda finance trust is living up to its mission of “ promoting financial independence ” by providing unique financial services to low income people in uganda hence empowering them to be independent financially. the then uganda women finance trust, started as an ngo in 1984 offering microfinance business to its customers when the savings capacity of the poor was still doubted. of course in some other developing countries, it had already been proved that the poor can save and invest. uganda women finance trust focused mainly on low income households and the small scale entrepreneurs, who were least likely to receive the attention of formal financial service providers. when it became clear that the poor, even in uganda can save, more microfinance institutions emerged, but uganda women finance trust remained outstanding for its focus on reaching poor women, both in the rural and urban areas. the uganda women finance trust opened a number of branches countrywide, gaining national recognition as well as outreach and experience. in october 2004, uganda women finance trust was transformed from an ngo limited by guarantee, to uganda finance trust ( mdi ) limited, a company limited by shares. then the company obtained a licence as a microfinance deposit - taking institution in october 2005 and it became the fourth licensed mdi in the country. this not only led to uganda finance trust redesigning its operations but also it set the stage for the company to pursue financial sustainability. i am glad that the achievements so far made by uganda finance trust

endorsed by the g20 leaders. the public sector has not been alone in issuing the outlays totalled eight per cent of gdp. these figures relate to government support measures introduced between september 2008 and june 2009. source : “ an assessment of financial sector rescue programmes ”, bis paper no 48, july 2009. in switzerland, the potential costs of capital injection and asset purchases amounted to about nine per cent of gdp. while the swiss government has been able to sell its stake in ubs with a profit, the snb exposure in illiquid assets taken over from ubs still amounts to approximately usd25 billion. “ we agree to take decisive action and use all available tools to support systemically important financial institutions and prevent their failure. ”, g7 finance ministers and central bank governors plan of action, 10 october 2008. the recommendations and principles to strengthen financial systems, published on 2 april 2009 ( based on the “ report of the financial stability forum on enhancing market and institutional resilience ”, april 2008 ), and “ improving financial regulation : report of the financial stability board to g20 leaders ”, 25 september 2009. recommendations. 4 individual firms and industry groups, most notably the institute of international finance ( iif ), have become increasingly vocal in stating what they consider to be appropriate and inappropriate changes to the global financial regulatory framework. 5 in short, good progress is being made on many issues. in particular, some of the largest banks have begun to reorient their business models and operating procedures. but many implementation challenges – in regulation as well as in business strategy – lie ahead of us. moreover, given the proliferation of ideas put forward by both the public and the private sector, it is increasingly difficult to keep track of competing recommendations. and perhaps, most worryingly, the momentum for reform appears to have slowed, partly because markets have stabilised, partly because the public is losing interest and partly because, as jerry corrigan recently said, “ the subject matter of reform is so very complex and often controversial. ” 6 in view of the complexity of the issue, allow me to lay out the regulatory reform priorities which the swiss national bank ( snb ) believes we must focus on in our efforts to build a more robust financial system for the future. fully in line with proposals by the fsb and the decisions already taken by the g20 leaders, we must pursue a dual - track approach to reform, combining preventive measures and resolution measures : the preventive measures aim at