njuguna ndung ’ u : first in development address by prof njuguna ndung ’ u, governor of the central bank of kenya, at the first consultative group meeting, nairobi, 24 november 2008. * * * chair, governing council of the first initiative ; distinguished members of the council here present ; management and staff of the first initiative program management unit ; distinguished guests ; meeting participants ; ladies and gentlemen : i am pleased to be here this morning at the opening of the first initiative consultative group meeting. my thanks go to the governing council and the program manager for the kind invitation. allow me also to thank first initiative for choosing to host both the governing and consultative group meetings in nairobi famed as “ the green city in the sun ”. i would also wish to welcome you all to nairobi and hope that you will extend your stay to enjoy the varied and scenic delights that kenya offers. ladies and gentlemen : this is indeed a “ watershed ” meeting that comes after the completion of the first four year mandate of first initiative. i am informed that first initiative began its operations in 2002 with a five year mandate that was successfully completed in 2007. the mandate was to provide technical assistance to support growth and poverty reduction in low and middle income countries by promoting a financial sector that was stable, deep and diversified. this is indeed a noble objective and it is therefore gratifying to note that first will now enter a second phase of operations to run to the end of 2012. role and significance of first in development first mission to deliver flexible, top - quality technical assistance related to financial sector is welcomed in the region where the role of the financial sector is recognized as an engine for development. most of you in this room can remember vividly the days of financial repression when government legal restrictions prevented financial intermediaries in the economy from functioning at their full capacity. the regulations generally included interest rate ceilings, compulsory credit allocation, and high reserve requirements. the development philosophy has shifted away from direction and control. governments of developing countries have now realized the great potential of the financial sector in fostering development. the formation of first as an institution was to help developing countries tap the potential support to the development of the financial sector. the fact that first initiatives always come in after financial sector assessment program ( fsap ) and other assessment have been undertaken by the imf and the world bank signals to governments of developing countries that our partners not only perform a “ health check ” of our financial system but they also

“ the risks and prospects for the global economy and capital markets in 2017 ” keynote address by professor john ( iannis ) mourmouras * deputy governor, bank of greece at amundi - omfif asset and risk management seminar entitled “ risk and yield management for official asset managers in a multicurrency system ” london, 24 january 2017 disclaimer : views expressed in this speech are personal views and do not necessarily reflect those of the institutions i am affiliated with. * ladies and gentlemen, today, as policies and capital markets seem to be moving from the “ unconventional era ” and “ great distortion ” towards “ gradual normalisation ”, i would like to discuss not only the prospects, but also the challenges we face head - on. let me start by offering my own insights into the global market outlook. 1. global economic outlook for 2017 the world economy 2017 will be very different from 2016, in many respects. if 2016 will be remembered as the year of brexit and donald trump ’ s election, 2017 i foresee may well be remembered for developments in the european continent. i refer to the national elections and the associated political uncertainty that may trigger further changes in the eurozone and the broader european union, as we know it today. two other key topics will be the new us economic policy under president trump and the end of the dominance of central banks, which will pass the torch to fiscal policy across the globe. in 2016, performance in the world ’ s major capital markets has been low by historical comparison, reflecting the salient events over the course of the previous year. i will show you only one figure depicting 2016 in six charts and refrain from any further comments about last year, as the bank of england ’ s chris salmon will provide a thorough overview of financial market developments in 2016 later this evening. figure 1. 2016 in six charts the imf ’ s latest macroeconomic projections, released last week, suggest that recovery is on the way † this year once again. a pick - up in global real gdp growth is expected, from 3. 1 % in 2016 to 3. 4 % in 2017, driven mostly by a rise in emerging markets ’ growth ( 4. 1 % in 2016 to 4. 5 % in 2017 ) and secondarily by a pick - up in advanced economies ’ growth ( 1. 6 % in 2016 to 1. 9 % in 2017 ) ( see figure 2 ). also, headline consumer price inflation in advanced economies is forecast to