x p guma : monetary policy transparency and openness speech delivered by dr x p guma, deputy governor of the south african reserve bank, on behalf of mr t t mboweni, governor of the south african reserve bank, at the launch of the labour markets and social frontiers publication series, 15 october 2002. * * * honoured guests, colleagues of the south african reserve bank and members of the media. as you are already aware, formal inflation targeting was introduced in south africa in february 2000. one of the hallmarks of inflation - targeting is the greater degree of transparency it requires regarding monetary policy. a major determinant in the success of the inflation - targeting framework hinges on whether the bank's actions are fully understood by and have credibility with labour, business, government and other social players in our economy. i have mentioned this in the past, but i am compelled to stress it again, that monetary policy transparency and openness are essential in order to enhance the understanding and credibility of our policies. this commitment to transparent monetary policy has resulted in numerous initiatives to improve the communication of our policies to the public. in march 2001, the bank published and distributed its inaugural monetary policy review, which is now published twice a year. we make statements, which are broadcast live on sabc, at press conferences shortly after each monetary policy committee ( mpc ) meeting. and we simultaneously release a detailed written statement in which reasons for the bank's stance is explained. monetary policy forums ( mpfs ) are held twice a year at various venues around the country to create a platform for discussion on monetary policy and general economic developments, both domestically and internationally. the bank also reports regularly to parliament on monetary policy. over and above all of this, i am frequently invited by various organisations to address various groups and forums, ranging from businessmen and women to universities, hiv / aids donors and caregivers, and i use every opportunity to bring the bank and its work closer to the people. today, i am proud to officially launch another initiative that is ground - breaking for the south african reserve bank and which i believe ranks it as a leader among central banks. the bank realises that the effects of monetary policy impact on labour markets and social development issues. while we acknowledge that sometimes these linkages are not blatant, we cannot rule out the possibility that some of the trickle - down effects are real and warrant more in - depth interrogation. it is for this reason in particular that we thought it necessary

radovan jelasic : developments in the serbian financial sector speech by mr radovan jelasic, governor of the national bank of serbia, on the occasion of the opening of the eighth forum and exhibition of banking technology “ tehnobank 2008 ”, belgrade, 9 april 2008. * * * ladies and gentlemen, allow me to greet you on behalf of the national bank of serbia on the occasion of the opening of the eighth “ tehnobank ” meeting which was first organized at the outset of transition of our economy. i wish to thank the organizers for a very interesting programme which, just as the transition itself, forces us to face up to new challenging ideas. the serbian financial sector is developing rapidly and i wish to single out three topics from this year ’ s agenda which the nbs is particularly keen to develop : • business continuity and disaster recovery • mobile payment services • new sepa regulations why these three? first, because quality and efficiency in performing financial services are of vital interest to any central bank. implementation of the technology which enables business continuity and disaster recovery is a sign of maturity of both the banking industry and the banking market environment itself. the nbs expects that application of such technologies will increase in the near future and, with that purpose in mind, in cooperation with the bank of england, plans to organize an international seminar on this topic to take place in belgrade on 13 through 15 may 2008. the nbs will host this meeting to discuss the targets, significance and the experiences of central banks in managing business continuity as well as the strategy for disaster recovery and averting threats to the normal conduct of business operations. one thing is for certain – in the 21st century, liquidity and solvency are important but are not sufficient to ensure stability of the financial sector if business continuity and disaster recovery do not function immaculately. let us take the uk example of the northern rock where a mistake in that respect actually led in great part to the first instance of bank nationalization after more than a century. mobile payments, however, are a chance for serbia to jumpstart technological development and to implement from the start the most innovative technologies. while many countries are still at the stage of devising extended pilot programs for mobile payments, in many serbian cities mobile telephony is already used for payment of parking space fees, while payment of top up fees for prepaid mobile telephony through sms messaging service is already a matter of everyday use. it gives me pleasure