caleb m fundanga : access to improved financial services in zambia remarks by dr caleb m fundanga, governor of the bank of zambia, at the standard chartered bank m - banking media launch, lusaka, 17 march 2009. * * * the standard chartered bank plc – managing director, ms mizinga melu management and staff – standard chartered bank zambia plc members of the press ; distinguished guests ; ladies and gentlemen i am honoured and thankful for the invitation to officiate at this important launch of the m - banking product. distinguished ladies and gentlemen ; allow me to begin by commending standard chartered bank for the important role it continues to play in the financial sector in zambia. since 1906, when standard chartered bank was established in zambia, the bank has grown to be one of the biggest players in the market. as at 31 january 2009 the bank accounted for about 15 % of the banking sector ’ s total assets, while its deposit base accounted for 18 % of total sector deposits. more importantly, the bank ’ s loan portfolio accounted for 13 % of the total loans in the sector. madam managing director, i congratulate you for the bank ’ s commitment to providing products and services that best suit the needs of customers. this, in my view, should be emulated by other banks to ensure that more people have access to banking and financial services that are tailor made to meet the needs of customers. under your leadership the bank has continued to bring to the banking sector an array of products and services that provide convenient alternative channels that lead to customer satisfaction and improved service delivery. the introduction of new products and services such as mobile banking, internet banking and e - statements provide customers with greater flexibility in their banking requirements, enabling them to transact at their own convenience, knowing that their finances are completely secure. this will no doubt enhance customer confidence in the banking system in zambia. ladies and gentlemen, i am reliably informed that the m - banking product we are launching today, will allow the bank to reach out to many more customers. this will increase the number of people with access to the financial system. at bank of zambia, we believe strongly that wider access to financial services through positive action by the banking community is vital. we also believe that the driving force will be banks and other financial institutions searching for new, profitable market opportunities. furthermore, a key element in the strategy of poverty alleviation is the provision of financial services to the majority of our people especially the small and micro

luis m linde : profile of professor nicholas bloom – winner of the xii german bernacer prize opening remarks by mr luis m linde, governor of the bank of spain, at the xii german bernacer prize ceremony, madrid, 24 september 2013. * * * ladies and gentlemen it is a great pleasure for me to introduce this award ceremony for the 12th german bernacer prize. first of all, let me once again thank the organizers and sponsors of the prize. they have established an excellent programme to support economic research in the fields of macroeconomics, monetary policy, and financial economics. this is the 10th time that the bernacer prize award ceremony has taken place at the banco de espana. the continued support and backing of this initiative of the observatory of the european central bank by the banco de espana is justified by its conviction of the importance of macroeconomic research, insofar as it concerns the functions to be performed by the european system of central banks. by recognizing the relevance of a prize like this, which has been awarded, in every instance, on the basis of academic excellence, the banco de espana reaffirms its commitment to economic research. as many of you know, this prize commemorates a distinguished spanish macroeconomist who worked at the banco de espana, as director of its research department, during the 1930s. despite the isolation of the spanish economics profession at that time, german bernacer obtained substantial international recognition for his research contributions. in this edition, to the very illustrious list of previous winners of the german bernacer prize, we add, with all due merit, professor nicholas bloom, a british economist, who is today professor in the economics department at stanford university. professor bloom graduated in economics from cambridge university, obtained his masters at oxford university and his ph. d. at university college london. he has been awarded the 2010 frisch medal of the econometric society, is a fellow of the american academy of arts and sciences and an associate editor of, among other journals, econometrica and the quarterly journal of economics and management science. he has published many articles on economic and management issues in top journals, including the american economic review, econometrica and the quarterly journal of economics. professor bloom ’ s two main areas of research are macroeconomic uncertainty and firm organization and productivity. in the first area, his main contributions are to show that macroeconomic uncertainty increases substantially in the aftermath of significant shocks. he also shows that during