of england. building on the rsa ’ s own project, it is that the bank set up its own set of regional citizen councils, centred around our agency network. the aim is to establish, in a structured, systematic and comprehensive way, a two - way dialogue and collaboration between the bank and a panel of citizen representatives on the economy, financial system and policy, as a means of enhancing the understanding of both parties. this is a bold recommendation. that language would usually preface an official like me lavishing praising on this recommendation, before gently burying it. but not today. i am delighted to announce that the bank intends implementing in full the rsa ’ s recommendation. during the course of this year, we will begin the process of setting - up regional citizen councils using our agency network. this is a natural next step, and will become a central plank, of the bank ’ s engagement strategy in the years ahead. this is, for the bank, the next rung in our ascent of the engagement ladder. i am confident our view of the economy, and our setting of economic policy, will be greatly enhanced by this wider panorama. it will give all speeches are available online at www. bankofengland. co. uk / speeches the bank a new lens on the economy ’ s hidden corners, a new set of often - quieter voices to listen to and learn from. it is an example of what the bank, and i hope others, will be doing much more of over the period ahead : listening to a much wider audience, digesting their narratives, and then using this information to support the economy and the citizen stakeholders that make it up. all speeches are available online at www. bankofengland. co. uk / speeches references arnstein, s ( 1969 ), ‘ a ladder of citizen participation ’, journal of the american planning association, vol. 35, no. 4, pp. 216 - 224. botsman, r ( 2017 ), who can you trust? how technology brought us together – and why it could drive us apart, portfolio penguin. england, d, hebden, a, henderson, t and pattie, t ( 2015 ), ‘ the agencies and ‘ one bank ’ ’, bank of england quarterly bulletin, 2015 q1. geertz, c ( 1998 ), ‘ deep hanging out ’, the new york review of books, 22 october 1998 haldane, a ( 2017a ), ‘ everyday economics ’

we are greatly encouraged by the active and committed response by the private sector to partner us in seeking resolution for african bank. we believe that the package that has been put together with the support of the consortium is workable and substantive. shareholders will have an opportunity, by following their rights in the capital raising, to participate in the recapitalisation. we take the opportunity to repeat what we said in our statement last week : south africa ’ s banking sector remains healthy and robust. there have been no indications that other south african banks have been affected negatively by abil ’ s trading update or african bank ’ s current situation. this remains the case following today ’ s announcement. the role of banking supervisors is to make every effort to ensure that south africa ’ s banks have adequate capital, liquidity, and leverage ratios, as well as sound governance and appropriate policies. we are, and will remain, an active supervisor. but this can never substitute for management ’ s role and its responsibility to manage a bank. nor can it remove a board ’ s responsibility to ensure sound policies and practices in relation to corporate governance, effective risk management, as well as the strategic direction of a bank. notwithstanding the challenges facing african bank, government ’ s policy of financial inclusion is appropriate and important. this requires sound practices, appropriate lending relating to affordability and an increased effort to provide greater access to finance for entrepreneurs as well as small and medium enterprises. this will continue to be the challenge for all of us going forward as we, together, continue to maintain the strength of the banking and financial system. thank you and i will now take questions. bis central bankers ’ speeches