the jurisdiction of the ombudsman, since the office ’ s “ terms of reference ” was limited to the least common denominator – that is to the areas on which there was total agreement among the service providers. this left a significant area of complaints outside of the jurisdiction of the ombudsman. giving statutory backing to the ombudsman scheme will also facilitate the introduction of appropriate sanctions for non - compliance. the second imperative, in my view, ( and it follows logically from the first ) is to extend the scope of complaints that come under the authority of the ombudsman. the numbers tell the tale – only about one - third of all the complaints that reach the ombudsman actually qualify under the terms of reference. this limited jurisdiction is perhaps the greatest threat to the credibility of the scheme. third, in order to deliver this expanded mandate the ofso would need to be better resourced, with a range of competencies sufficient to deal with the rapidly - evolving financial services industry. adequate resources and competence would strengthen the credibility of the institution in the eyes of both consumers and the service providers. ladies and gentlemen, i would like to end by congratulating ms. suzanne roach, the current ombudsman, her predecessors, and their respective staffs, for shaping a formidable institution that has gained considerable respect from both the providers and the consumers of financial services. let me also thank the banking and the insurance sectors for their unstinting support for the ombudsman scheme. bis central bankers ’ speeches i really believe that the ombudsman ’ s office has earned the right to move to the next level and assume a more prominent role in the country ’ s strategy for achieving financial stability. i wish the ombudsman and her staff continued success and i thank you all for your kind attention. bis central bankers ’ speeches

all and i urge them to continue their efforts to keep the credit union spirit alive, as they continue to face the challenges emanating from globalization and financial liberalisation and a more secular approach to community. ladies and gentlemen, you know better than i, the tumultuous change that the credit union movement has undergone over the past three decades. the movement saw a period of very rapid growth in the decade to the mid - 1980s ; this was followed by stagnation up to around the mid - 1990s : since then, with the aid of some government support by way of tax credits, the movement has blossomed once more. to survive, the credit union movement has had to adapt, and this is reflected in the considerable consolidation that has taken place from around 400 credit unions in the early 1980s to about 130 today. total credit union assets have increased sharply in recent years and are estimated at about $ 4 billion currently. the recent growth has, however, been very lopsided and has led to much concentration. according to data available for 2003, the six largest credit unions with assets ranging from $ 200 million to $ 800 million, account for about one - half of total credit union assets and the largest 17 credit unions account for three - quarters of the industry ’ s assets. the smaller institutions raise resources from shares and savings deposits and make small loans for consumer purposes ; these are essentially run as co - operative societies and are based on principles of volunteerism. in the case of the large credit unions, we have a new paradigm involving products and services more readily associated with the commercial banks. these larger credit unions, now offer certificates of deposits, make mortgage and commercial loans, provide credit and debit cards to be used in automatic teller machines and also provide cambio and travel agency services. the expansion of the credit union sector over the last thirty - five years has taken place in the absence of an appropriate legislative framework. as you know, the present legislation, covering the credit union movement { the co - operative society act } dates back to 1971 and does not adequately address prudential issues. in an attempt to fill this gap, the co - operative credit union league, over the past few years, has been promoting a system of prudential management based on adherence to the “ pearls ” system, which provides guidelines for capital adequacy, liquidity and non - performing loans. the league ’ s efforts have had mixed results. the preliminary data that i have been able to muster