christine lagarde : finding resilience in times of uncertainty speech by ms christine lagarde, president of the european central bank, at an event organised by the central bank of cyprus, nicosia, 30 march 2022. * * * constantine p. cavafy ’ s famous poem “ ithaca ” starts with the words : “ when you set out on your journey to ithaca, pray that the road is long, full of adventure, full of knowledge. ” and indeed, these words capture well the story of cyprus in modern times. it is a story full of adventure, with many obstacles along the way. and yet, your people have overcome them all, gaining in knowledge, and emerging stronger and more resilient each time. your nation rebounded after the invasion of 1974 and subsequent partition of the country, using its agility and acumen to become a hub for business in the middle east and north africa region. cyprus transformed itself from an island on europe ’ s easternmost edge to a member state at its core, joining the eu in 2004 and adopting the euro in 2008. it endured and then recovered from a crippling banking crisis in 2013, with the economy growing by around 6 % each year from 2015 until the start of the pandemic. more recently, cyprus has rallied well from the pandemic, despite the importance of tourism to the economy, which was heavily hit by lockdowns and travel bans. but europe is now faced with another crisis in the form of the russian invasion of ukraine. this is first and foremost a human tragedy whose cost is growing by the day. but it is also a significant economic shock, owing to our proximity to russia and our dependence on its gas and oil. that shock will be felt here in cyprus too. so i applaud your country for opposing this unjustified act of aggression together with the rest of europe. but i recognise that cyprus, like all of europe, is now confronted with rising uncertainty. in my remarks today, i would therefore like to review the economic situation in the euro area, touching on what we know so far about the impact of the war. and i would like to lay out how national and european policies can combine to help mitigate its costs and manage today ’ s uncertainty. the recovery from the pandemic before the russia - ukraine war began, the euro area economy was rebounding well from the pandemic. the recovery was much faster and more job - rich

caleb m fundanga : broadening access to mortgage financing in zambia opening speech by dr caleb m fundanga, governor of the bank of zambia, at the re - launch of the pan african building society ( pabs ), lusaka, 24 july 2007. * * * • the shareholders of pabs ; • the board of directors of pabs ; • senior government officials present ; • the deputy governor - operations and registrar of banks and financial institutions ; • the general manager of pabs ; • distinguished ladies and gentlemen. it gives me great pleasure and gratitude for having been invited to speak on this occasion of the re - launch of the pan african building society. ladies and gentlemen : today marks an important day in the calendar of pan african building society which brings on board new shareholders. the bank of zambia is happy to note that this development has turned around the financial condition of pan african building society. ladies and gentlemen, as you are aware, there is shortage of housing in zambia and therefore the demand for housing finance is increasing. it follows therefore, that the primary challenge of housing finance institutions in zambia is the broadening of access to mortgage finance particularly to many people in urban areas. due to the prevailing macro - economic stability that the country is experiencing, we have seen substantial growth in the housing finance industry in recent years. for instance, in the last four ( 4 ) years to december 2006, the mortgage portfolio of the building society industry has grown five fold. ladies and gentlemen, in recognition of the need to provide a conducive regulatory environment which promotes sustainability, accountability, transparency and growth of the building society industry in zambia, the building societies act was amended in october 2005 to harmonise it with the banking and financial services act pending the modernization of the building societies act under the financial sector development plan law reform programme. ladies and gentlemen, bank of zambia is concerned about the levels of lending interest rates charged by most financial institutions in zambia, building societies included. with the achievement of relative macroeconomic stability in the recent years as evidenced by a significant reduction in the inflation rate to 11. 1 percent as at june 2007, it is the expectation of the bank of zambia that all prudent lending institutions would make downward adjustments to their lending interest rates to make financial services accessible and affordable. it is also important to note that high lending interest rates can lead to high levels of delinquency. ladies and gentlemen, it is in this light that we anticipate that credit referencing services will