purpose is to develop a savings culture in the country, provide additional avenue for investment and encourage the development of the domestic capital market. the number of individual investments in the tap facility is continuously increasing. going forward, and into the new year 2018, current challenges to monetary policy will remain and new opportunities arise with the country hosting the apec summit in 2018. b. financial system supervision in 2017, as in all past years, the financial system of our country continues to be stable as a result of prudent oversight and management by boards and management teams of the respective licensed financial institutions ( lfis ). this is testament of our strong supervisory enforcements 1 / 4 bis central bankers'speeches and our continuous prudential consultations with the lfis. key performance indicators of the lfis such as strong capital, very low non - performing loans and so forth are healthy signs of the financial system. this is essential to ensure the ongoing protection of depositors ’ money in banks, finance companies and microbanks, contributors funds in super funds, policyholders covers with life insurance companies, and members ’ funds in s & l societies. our commitment to financial inclusion and education has been strengthened through our close connection to cefi, the centre for excellence for financial inclusion. during the year we hosted three important events, the pacific islands regional initiative, the first png blockchain seminar and the financial inclusion innovation summit, all aiming to help bring cost - effective financial services to people in our society who do not have easy access to traditional banking. a. blockchain. we are keeping a close eye on the future, with innovations like blockchain technology, where our society may use cashless financial solutions to fuel development, particularly in remote areas. i believe that blockchain can help us tackle some of the biggest problems we have in png including identity, financial inclusion and access to green energy but for now cash is also our business. we are making very good progress in the construction of the lae currency distribution facility. we are now about to start staff recruitment planning. b. payment systems. we have transformed our payment system to world standards through the integration of it systems. these have increased efficiency in the payments, clearing, and settlement systems. we now have the real time gross settlements ( rtgs ) systems that allow settlements in real time, full automation of the clearing house, cheques that took more than 7 days to clear can now be cleared in just two days.

many challenges in front of us. the much talked about foreign exchange issues, the unbanked, high liquidity, break - down in monetary policy transmission and sovereign wealth fund are just some of the issues that we must address collectively internally and with other government institutions. in addition, international geopolitical issues that has economic implication brings another dimension of challenge we are faced with ; in our implementation of policies and surveillance of the financial system and the foreign exchange market. we must develop in - house skills and resources to address these issues and withstand headwinds from global economic developments. g. one bank i have mentioned some of the areas within the bank that have achieved important milestones since our last anniversary. be assured i am well aware that these were not the only significant steps forward we made in our 44th year. with this in mind, let us think about the notion of one bank one bpng, which is one of our key aims, outlined in the bank ’ s strategic plan 2016 – 2020. our aim is to present one face to the world, rather than a number of units stitched together to create departments. we have come a long way, through reworking the structure of the bank to reflect function rather than historical hierarchy. last but not the least. i would like to thank my fellow board members for their support during the past 12 months. our board is active and involved. ladies and gentlemen, it is my pleasure to introduce our newly appointed board member, mr christopher hnanguie, who is the chairman of the securities commission of papua new guinea. welcome to the bank of papua new guinea mr hnanguie. my sincere thanks go to our senior executives, deputy governor dr gae kauzi ( at this juncture, i kindly ask everyone to remember deputy governor in your prayers for a continuous and speedy recovery ), assistant governors mrs elizabeth genia, mr joe teria, mr ellison pidik for their commitment and leadership. thank you also to the director fasu, mr benny popoitai and department managers for helping us establish the path forward to one bank, and working collaboratively to make it happen. 3 / 4 bis central bankers'speeches and a heartfelt thank you to our staff. you really are the key to ensuring one bank becomes a reality. i look forward to standing here next year at our 45th anniversary ball, thanking you all for playing your part in achieving that goal. finally, i have considered a new initiative, to support, recognise