household credit was the main driver of bank credit, growing by 11. 8 per cent in september 2023 relative to 12. 2 per cent in july 2023. housing loan growth decelerated, rising at an annual rate of 12. 8 per cent in september 2023 from 18. 4 per cent in june 2023. corporate credit rose by 2. 8 per cent in september 2023, compared to 4. 4 per cent in july 2023, suggesting that growing earnings was supporting the funding requirements of the corporate sector. the credit portfolio of the banking sector remained sound. the npl ratio of the banking sector was estimated at 4. 7 per cent in september 2023, up from 4. 6 per cent in june 2023. the npl coverage ratio stood at 53. 2 per cent in september 2023. banks maintained ample capital and liquidity buffers. the aggregate capital adequacy ratio ( car ) was at 20. 3 per cent in september 2023, well above the minimum regulatory requirement. the liquidity coverage ratio ( lcr ) of the banking sector also stood above the regulatory floor of 100 per cent, with aggregated lcr at 278. 9 per cent in september 2023 while the lcr for material foreign currencies was 213. 1 per cent. 6 / 9 bis - central bankers'speeches the bank's stress test results showed continued resilience of the banking sector, based on its upgraded framework. the new stress testing framework includes forward - looking elements and new modules to cater for evolving macrofinancial conditions. as the domestic economy expands further, banks are expected to consolidate their buffers to absorb potential shocks. the bank continues to monitor risks to the stability of the financial system, while focussing on its price stability mandate. mauritius investment corporation ( mic ) before i come to the mpc decision, let me quickly underscore the pivotal role played so far by the mauritius investment corporation ( mic ) in our economy. as you may be aware, the mic has played a key role in assisting systemic corporates in their recovery process post - covid, thereby safeguarding the safety, soundness and stability of the financial system of mauritius. it has also played an important part in the bank's investment strategy and in diversifying the bank's portfolio. i am pleased to enlighten you that the entity has performed well during the financial year 2022 - 2023. from inception to 30 june 2023, mic

do about that, and there is nothing the government or the reserve bank can do about that. we live in a world of floating exchange rates. while it is conceivable that we could fix our exchange rate to the us dollar, or the australian dollar, or even the twi ( as we once did ) we can ’ t fix to all simultaneously. inevitably we have to learn to cope with exchange rate variability. in fact, on measures of shorter - term exchange rate volatility, the new zealand dollar is a surprisingly good performer. day - to - day volatility of our currency is modest when measured alongside the experience of other developed countries - - even those much larger than new zealand. to assess the impact of longer - term exchange rate trends, we need to look to measures of the “ real ” or inflation - adjusted exchange rate - - because that is what matters for exporters. on that basis, we find that the new zealand dollar moves through the inevitable cycles, but will typically be found within about 15 percent to 20 percent of its longer - term average. our recent experience has been consistent with that. the real twi was around 10 percent below its long - term average at its last trough in 1992. at its recent peak, in april of this year, it was around 17 percent above that same longer - term average. while cycles in the real exchange rate of that amplitude can certainly create discomfort for exporters, it is clear that they are well within the range experienced by other currencies. in essence, exporters should be factoring cycles of that sort into their business planning. it is clearly relevant to the variability of their future earnings stream, and therefore, to the value of their assets and to the nature of the capital structure they require to stay in business. of course, it is also relevant to their balance sheet management and to risk - hedging strategies they may need to adopt. the best contribution that governments and central banks can make to moderating real exchange rate cycles is to embrace policy consistency and transparency - - in monetary policy, fiscal policy, and in tax and regulatory policies. the decline in exchange rate volatility in recent years provides some evidence to support that. one point we should all be clear on. there is no future in thinking we can pursue competitiveness, in forestry or any other sector, through attempts to use monetary policy to engineer a weaker exchange rate. i say that for several reasons : • competitiveness and the productivity