– the latter see the benefits more quickly when interest rates go up again. in order to safeguard earnings performance, small and medium - sized institutions need to assess the efficiency of their business model – and better sooner than later. i will not give any detailed advice on business policy here – supervisors are not the better bankers. fundamentally, though, banks have two options : they either raise their earnings or lower their costs. bis central bankers ’ speeches let ’ s look at the earnings side first. it makes sense to create new sources of earnings that are less dependent on interest rates – such as fees and commissions. a survey of german institutions conducted by the german federal financial supervisory authority ( bafin ) and the bundesbank has indeed revealed that more than half of the respondents have already expanded the share of fees and commissions income in their earnings. on the costs side, precisely german institutions have potential for savings. by european standards, their cost efficiency is relatively low. for every euro of earnings, they bear costs of almost 70 cent – compared with just 50 cent in other countries. however, the solution does not necessarily lie in merging small institutions to ultimately create a large, systemically relevant institution. on the contrary : “ small is beautiful ” is a good, if not better, alternative – provided that “ small ” is sustainable in the long term. in order to realise scale effects, banks could also centralise certain areas – such as reporting, transaction settlement or some elements of risk management. the german savings banks and cooperative banks in particular already have experience in this regard. whatever way the institutions choose, it ’ s crucial that they keep proper control of the risks they have taken on. banks are obviously not having an easy time right now. they are obliged to increase earnings in times of low interest rates and tough competition, but at the same time must not take any excessive risks when doing so. many would liken this to trying to square the circle. i think it ’ s more like a system of mathematical equations with many unknowns – complicated, but nevertheless resolvable. there are always ways to revive your own business – even without incurring excessive risks. digitalisation, for example, is opening new paths, which some alert managers are already exploring – be it to develop new sources of income or distribution channels, or to reduce costs. cases in point are online banking through smartphones or advisory services for customers by video conference. digitalisation also offers opportunities for small and medium - sized institutions. for these

elson gaskin : the frank collymore literary endowment - building on its legacy remarks by mr elson gaskin, deputy governor of the central bank of barbados, at the 26th frank collymore literary endowment awards ceremony, bridgetown, 14 january 2024. * * * good evening. in commencing, let me, on behalf of the governor, board, management and staff of the central bank of barbados, extend condolences to the family, friends, and loved ones of the late sonia williams, who on more than one occasion was a finalist in this competition. as i began to prepare for this awards ceremony, i looked back at what we have said on previous occasions as it is sometimes important to take a retrospect before moving forward. what stood out during that exercise is that we have often spoken about the role that the arts play in creating a national identity. just last year, we spoke about the fact that not only is the fcle a part of the bank's legacy, it has created a legacy of its own. the central bank of barbados'unswerving support for and commitment to the frank collymore literary endowment is precisely because we recognise that in addition to fulfilling our core mandate, we must be a part of, and never apart from, the society we serve. we see this programme as an essential part of the barbadiana that we are. one year ago, the bank was winding down its 50th anniversary celebrations and the fcle was marking its silver jubilee. the parallels between the two institutions - and i choose this word deliberately because the frank collymore literary endowment has become an institution - extend beyond celebrating milestone anniversaries around the same time. both are interested in barbados'national development. for the bank, that is primarily, but not exclusively, related to the economy. for the fcle, it is about the development of this island's literary tradition. it is a role we both take seriously, and from which comes a second parallel : our respective commitment to excellence. the central bank of barbados'vision is to become and maintain an institution of worldclass excellence, and we are working every day to internalise this vision and reflect it in not only in the many activities in which we are involved an but also in the quality with which we execute them. i am confident that the fcle and its committee also live by this ideal. over the past 26 years, the competition has become a bellwether of quality writing.