superannuation and foreign exchange industries. in 2009, our role was extended to include the capital markets industry. the reserve bank of fiji ’ s main role in this area is to maintain a stable and sound financial system that is fundamental to the country ’ s wellbeing. our major objective in this regard is bis central bankers ’ speeches the protection of the interests of depositors, creditors, members and policyholders, as well as maintaining confidence in the financial system by promoting its strength and integrity. interests in microfinance in the last 2 years, after the global financial and economic crisis, our interest and focus on microfinance and financial inclusion has become more prominent and is now one of our main development priorities, in addition to our core central bank responsibilities. we have come to realize that around 40 percent of our population may be excluded from any sort of financial services. also from a growing body of international research on policy implications and successes, it is widely acknowledged that the contribution of microfinance and inclusive finance is important for the sustained economic well being of a country in the long term. i believe we central bankers have critical decisions to make in our own countries. our policy decisions should facilitate a pro - growth inclusive financial system. in fiji, a part of our wanting to have an inclusive financial system was to ensure that the under - served low income and poor people have reasonable and affordable access to finance from financial institutions. we took our first steps towards this objective in 2009 by encouraging regulated financial institutions to undertake and extend affordable microfinance services. a microfinance policy was subsequently issued to all banks to conduct microfinance activities. i am pleased to say that the banks have taken on these requirements really well and are in compliance in one form or another. in terms of the affordability of microfinance services and financial services in general, we view technology as one means to address this issue, away from the traditional “ bricks and mortar ” setups. specifically, electronic methods to conduct financial and payment services, such as point of sale ( pos ) devices using stored value cards, and mobile phones using communication networks, are innovations that were well adapted to microfinance. some banks in fiji have now introduced wireless point of sale devices with their agents, with both withdrawal and deposit capabilities, to be used with stored value cards. these initiatives are clearly suitable for clients in rural or remote locations. also, some non - regulated private sector players, such as mobile network operators ( mno ),

risk management. for instance there is a basic rule since inception of banks which says “ do not put all your eggs in one basket ”. had this simple rule been followed, many institutions could have avoided huge losses. the challenges posed by the global financial crisis have impacted leaders of all major businesses. elevating corporate governance should not be confined to banks, but commercial concerns must also do the same. we all know the pace of globalization has accelerated, resulting in increased domestic and global economic integration. today we cannot just shrug off failures within a particular sector or sometimes even a single entity if it has global linkages. gone are the days when a financial or political crisis in one country could be contained to that country ; now there are several contagion effects at different levels. that is why emphasis on good corporate governance regimes cannot be underscored more as it creates an attractive investment climate necessary to maintain investors ’ confidence, resulting in positive impact on the share price and creating possibilities for raising low cost capital. it is imperative that we develop and implement good governance practices in order to provide impetus to economic growth. given globalization and the crisis we all face, let me highlight the traits of effective leadership that are universally applicable and that i have cited in earlier talks. leaders must be visionary to see the future trends, anticipate institutional bottlenecks, remain competitive and be able to adap rapidly to changes. they should be continuous learners, a necessity for enhancing leadership skills. leaders need also to take into account their corporate social responsibility so that profit seeking is balanced against the objective of social service and well being of society. leadership success requires strong conviction and belief. yet having humility and recognizing the need to reinvent and inspire their organization to adapt to new challenges remain an integral part of successful leaders. this is vital if businesses want to remain at the forefront of new innovations, critical for long term competitiveness. all these and more comprise the necessary characteristics for dynamic leaders that push the frontiers of excellence. such corporate leaders fuel the drive towards long - term growth and stability. i ’ ll conclude my thoughts with a small personal aspiration. twenty years from now, i would like to hear the story of how a pakistani corporation entered the global market, the challenges it faced and overcame, and became the first pakistani company to be bis central bankers ’ speeches consistently featured in the fortune global 500 list of companies. i look forward to being in an audience of thousands, listening to that story. that is my final challenge