when some banks adjusted their savings rates downwards although the mpc had decided to leave the krr on hold. at the july 2014 meeting, the mpc decided, by consensus, to keep the bis central bankers ’ speeches krr unchanged at 4. 65 per cent, with a majority of members agreeing that it was time to normalise interest rates, and giving forward guidance on the direction of the change in the krr in the first quarter of 2015. we renewed our efforts to restore the monetary transmission mechanism. we made some progress in our efforts to persuade the treasury to share sterilisation costs. we prevailed on the treasury to introduce three savings products targeting individual savers, two varieties of five - year and one three - year government of mauritius savings bonds to mop up some of the excess liquidity. a memorandum of understanding between the treasury and the bank is at an advanced stage of negotiation : it will provide the burden - sharing modalities, and may necessitate some enabling changes in the public debt management act 2008. improving customer experience in june 2014, we released the report of the task force on unfair terms in banking contracts, banking your future : towards a fair & inclusive banking sector. it makes 100 recommendations, including the abolition of 19 fees and the review of 13 others, and a free basic bank account for all mauritian citizens above 16 years old. these recommendations aim to improve the bank - customer relationship and help both banks and customers to achieve a fairer deal. the report is open for public consultation up to 31 october 2014. after the consultation period, the bank will analyse the report, along with the feedback and decide on an action plan. it is the first time in the history of the bank that a task force has been set up to look holistically into banking practices prevailing in the country, and the first time in the history of banking in mauritius that these practices have been examined so closely with inputs from all categories of stakeholders. it seems that the customer around whom banks should centre their business has been gradually left on the side over the years. the report seeks to provide a framework to bring the customer back at the heart of banking business. all stakeholders and the general public were invited to participate in this banking reform initiative by commenting on the proposed recommendations, making suggestions and proposals, so that together we can pave the way to a modern, efficient, and customer - centric banking sector. regional and international involvement we pursued our involvement in regional fora.

openness to the general public. we were not alone. that sentiment became mainstream across the globe, as well. central bankers are nowadays cornered to deliver more in their countries, to actively punish the offenders of fiduciary and prove more empathic with debtors and, why not, more compliant and tolerant with populist measures that affect the financial sector and macroeconomic stability. otherwise their independence would be put at risk, as it is already challenged by public representatives. given the rapid change in perceptions in a ‘ post - truth ’ environment, with few impartial media and the increase in populism, most central banks across the world, including the national bank of romania, may face a possible delay in recovering the public trust to the pre - crisis levels. even if they spoke more plainly or loudly, using all the modern communication toolkits, the slow bridging 4 / 5 bis central bankers'speeches of the trust gap should not crush the contribution of independent central banks to the efforts to avert crises, achieve economic progress and be an open and responsible institution in the society. and, in the national bank of romania ’ s case, its legacy is an important pillar of romania ’ s modernisation. 5 / 5 bis central bankers'speeches