. your presence will enhance the discussions and will ensure that relevant issues are tabled and that they are adequately addressed. your agenda for the next three days is quite rich. this could be a very significant three days for the sadc integration project. you may look back at this workshop, when the project is successfully completed, and appreciate some of the preparatory work that you would have completed over the next 3 days, and i am sure be proud to have been part of it. i wish you well in your discussions and that you have a successful workshop. thank you. bis central bankers ’ speeches

multilateral organisations, resulting in the european integration project being put to a rather severe test. the two circumstances can present very different sets of challenges and could impact the sadc integration project in different ways, in that each could impact a different set of roleplayers. the emergence of measures to address issues that led to the global banking crisis has a direct impact on commercial banks, and on regulators who are required to refine existing or introduce new regulatory and supervisory measures. the events in europe, which revealed that, while there are no doubts about the benefits of monetary unions, under certain circumstances they can put serious constraints on countries, on the other hand may harbour even broader implications. countries in the sadc region will probably carefully monitor the situation in europe to reassess the admittance criteria and control measures for a future sadc monetary union. bis central bankers ’ speeches commercial banks will be required to conform to more stringent regulatory requirements because of the new measures introduced following the banking crises. regulators are required to review their oversight and supervisory procedures of commercial banks. a higher level of co - operation between regulatory bodies is becoming essential to ensure that different facets of a commercial bank ’ s structure and operation are adequately examined. joint oversight and mutual co - operation initiatives between regulators are being formalised by memoranda of understanding and we are observing the formalisation of roles of the different regulators in integrated environments. the significant commitment required of commercial banks to meet the new requirements could result in a shift in focus away from regional initiatives. regional initiatives could take lesser priority for the banks. the role of the sadc banking association becomes even more crucial in the effort to integrate the payment system environment. commercial banks, despite their commitments to effect changes to meet new regulatory requirements, should continue to play their part in making the regional integration initiative a success, not least because they stand to benefit from the opportunities that regional integration will bring with it. the sadc banking association is ideally positioned to work with the banking community, and a close working relationship with the project team is similarly of paramount importance. events of the recent past in europe have prompted sadc to examine more carefully the criteria for admittance to the monetary union. this together with the time being taken for the establishment of control measures and procedures, will more than likely delay the eventual establishment of the sadc central bank and the introduction of the sadc single currency. the dates initially contained in the regional indicative strategic development plan ( risdp ), which called for the