survey undertaken in 2007 and it is the third such survey conducted in independent namibia. the survey assesses the level of bis central bankers ’ speeches access to, and use of financial services by the adult population as well as the underlying reasons. for the first time in namibia, 2011 finscope also assessed the level of financial literacy in the country, which is a critical benchmark for planning purposes and, indeed, for the execution of the financial literacy initiative. the findings of 2011 finscope survey reveal an array of progress in expanding the frontiers of financial inclusion. of particular significance is the level of financial inclusion, which is now assessed to have increased from 48 percent in 2007 to 69 percent by 2011. put differently, financial exclusion, which stood at an estimated 51. 7 percent in 2007, has significantly fallen to 31 percent by 2011. this quantum of progress in a space of four years is a result of the effectiveness of policy and concerted efforts by the financial services industry to bring services to the doorsteps of the previously unserved and underserved. i therefore wish to seize this opportunity to commend the financial services industry for moving in the right direction. honourable minister, ladies and gentlemen, the survey findings also unravel the challenges and opportunities for targeted interventions going forward. access per se may have improved, but the picture is not entirely rosy to warrant us to be smiling all the way to our workplaces. relatively high bank fees hit hard low - income earners and discourage formal banking as a safe haven for saving and other financial transactions. unbanked persons are especially exposed to the vulnerabilities and risks associated with the cash economy and high service fees of alternative financial services. still, about two - thirds of the population, that is 64 percent, do not have access to insurance. therefore, we still have a long way to go. to address some of these challenges, the bank is working closely with the commercial banks for the establishment of the basic bank account for low - income earners and smes. among its features, the basic bank account will attract low transactional fees and provide for a bundle of free transactional services per month. when finalized, this product innovation is expected to improve access to banking for the unbanked as well as cost - effective services for low - income clients. we will not stop here, director of ceremonies, but will continue to look at other bank fees and charges that warrant further attention in line with the payment system vision 2015, launched some

lee hsien loong : building one financial world address by mr lee hsien loong, deputy prime minister of singapore and chairman of the monetary authority of singapore, at the 42nd aci world congress, held in singapore on 25 may 2001. * * * managing financial integration : asia ’ s experience the last 25 years has seen the emergence of an increasingly borderless, integrated financial world. the collapse of the bretton woods system set in train the deregulation of domestic financial markets and the removal of barriers to cross - border finance. overall, the outcome has been positive. globalised financial markets have helped to integrate national economies into a global trading system, and finance growth through better allocation of world savings. but the benefits have not come without hazards. shocks are now transmitted quickly from one financial system to another. large speculative flows threaten to destabilise economies from time to time. the margin for policy error is narrow, and the penalty severe. one consequence of greater financial integration is that countries can no longer count on sound macroeconomic fundamentals alone to attract foreign capital. when deciding whether to lend or invest and at what price, international players increasingly look to the stability of countries'financial systems, the degree of transparency, the quality of the legal framework and the standards of corporate governance. on these counts, asia has much catching up to do. for too long, east asian countries directed their domestic banks to lend to well - connected familybased firms and conglomerates. even when the countries deregulated financial systems and freed their capital accounts, they did too little to strengthen financial supervision and regulation, develop liquid markets, and promote sound corporate governance. international creditors were eager to participate in the asian miracle, and accepted a close nexus between borrowers and lenders as the " way " business was done in asia. but lending on the basis of familiarity and relationships is prone to abuse and a recipe for financial mishaps. the asian crisis of 1997 / 98 vividly brought home the risks of this approach. the asian crisis is now past, but we are not back to the status quo ante. the situation today is troubled, but it is different from that in 1997 / 98. unlike then, there is no contagious financial panic, no more hot money to flee the region, crashing currencies and economies one after the other. the markets are more subdued, although they are not immune to shocks, especially from political developments. global investors and traders have been chastened