with a hard - bis central bankers ’ speeches hitting message as to what could happen with poor governance, poor controls, and not the least, ineffective regulatory oversight. i am sure that you would have deliberated on these subjects in your various technical sessions and fully understand the repercussions for not setting the appropriate platforms. ladies and gentlemen, we live in a time where transactions and products are becoming more complex, leaving institutions, both big and small, vulnerable to failure. therefore, establishing proper safety nets is critical. i urge participants, as you return to your respective countries, to continuously review and benchmark your operations against international principles and best practices. the world council of credit unions and international credit union principles on governance, operations and safety and soundness have much guidance to offer in these areas, as do your facilitators. the importance of innovation let me touch a little on innovation, something which is very important if credit unions are to remain relevant and competitive in today ’ s dynamic environment. i encourage participants to put on your innovative thinking caps. observe the products and services offered by credit unions in other economies and identify those that could be tailored in yours to increase your coverage. for instance, technology now drives the efficient and economical delivery of financial services and interaction with customers. credit unions may wish to explore the use of digital finance to facilitate transactions with members, particularly those in remote areas. also, inward remittances from our families overseas are a significant foreign exchange earner ; in fiji remittances are the number two foreign exchange earner after tourism and we received in excess of $ 339 million last year and are expecting more than $ 370 million this year – which will be a new record. you may wish to explore the feasibility of creating remittance - linked products for your members – as currently practiced in kenya and latin america, in partnership with the world council of credit unions. the reserve bank of fiji ’ s experience – support for credit unions ladies and gentlemen, i firmly believe that in order for credit unions to compete and grow in a progressive and modern financial system, the support and guidance of the central bank is critical. therefore, before i conclude, i wish to share a few of our partnership initiatives in a bid to develop this important industry. in march this year we undertook a survey covering 21 credit unions with assets totalling $ 125. 1 million. this allowed us to understand the structure and coverage of credit unions and will help us in developing an appropriate regulatory framework.

yesterday, reserves held with the reserve bank were above $ 1. 84 billion, a historical high and sufficient to cover 5. 2 months of retained imports of goods and non - factor services. ladies and gentleman, the numbers are coming together for us and i have not seen them this good for a long time. the government has played its part in recent years and continues to do so, but we are also now seeing the private sector, the often quoted “ engine ” of growth, stepping up to the plate in a serious way. on our recent road trips in the central and western divisions and in discussions with captains of fijian industry we have noted a general buzz of confidence. a confidence and optimism that has this sector spending money to grow their businesses, and in their doing so, they grow fiji. on that note let me thank you all for your kind attention. i wish you all the best in today ’ s presentations and deliberations and hope that we can together come up with innovative ideas in further addressing our economy ’ s challenges. before i finish, please allow me to relate a brief story to you. many years ago i used to play in the suva cricket competition for a team made up of players of different ages varying from school boys to near senior citizens, both locals and foreigners and of many different ethnic backgrounds. we were truly a mixed bag of people who loved the game. we did not come from the well known traditional cricketing strongholds of lau or qvs, and were not part of the expatriate players who grew up representing their schools in australia or new zealand and who opted to join the top teams here. we were just your bunch of keen cricketers bent on succeeding as a unit. we committed ourselves and played smart and moved from the “ c ” grade to the “ a ” grade competition in 3 seasons, playing at the top level and holding our own for a number of years after that ( there were of course many more teams back in the 1980s and cricket actually had exclusive use of albert park from october to april each year! ). we had achieved much of what we set out to do through great teamwork and much enthusiasm for what we were doing. i can still remember those days quite vividly and it was a great experience in togetherness. we actually called ourselves tovata heads, which for us literally meant “ heads together ”. vinaka vakalevu and thank you all for listening. end bis central bankers ’ speeches