an indication that more needs to be done to increase access to financial services. on its part, the bank of zambia has incorporated the promotion of financial inclusion as one of its strategic objectives for the 2008 – 2011 strategic plan. we believe that increased extension of financial services to ordinary citizens and small business enterprises will play a vital role in poverty reduction and economic growth. further, by maintaining low inflation and promoting a safe and stable financial system, the bank ensures that people ’ s incomes are safeguarded and prices of goods and services are stable. furthermore, in 2009, the government approved the extension to the initial five - years of the fsdp in order to continue the national strategy of strengthening our financial sector and enhancing financial inclusion. the second phase of the fsdp will focus on three main pillars namely : ( i ) enhancing market infrastructure ; ( ii ) increasing competition ; and ( iii ) increasing access to finance. overall, the vision is to have a dynamic and inclusive financial sector that supports all aspects of the economy. therefore, the theme for this workshop and exhibition “ enhancing financial access for women : a tool for poverty reduction ” is timely and appropriate. our aim is to recognise and heighten awareness of women ’ s issues within this context. more specifically, the main objective of this forum is to showcase a variety of financial services and products available and sensitize the general public on : ( i ) how financial institutions are contributing to increasing gender financing in zambia ; ( ii ) bringing awareness to the women on the opportunities that are available for them to access finance and mitigate related challenges ; ( iii ) the role of the bank of zambia and other financial institutions in meeting the objective of financial inclusion ; ( iv ) how the united nations as the lead international organisation and other local agencies are supporting women in zambia ; and ( v ) sharing experiences in running businesses, and the opportunities and challenges in accessing finance in order to grow the income base. the exhibition gives us an opportunity to identify women ’ s potential and encourage them to stand up and be counted and, contribute to the development of this country. the workshop and exhibition also gives us an opportunity to make the “ marginalized woman ” aware of the various financial services and products that are available to them. distinguished participants, i am glad to note that many products on exhibit here include those targeted at the ordinary citizen and more specifically women, as opposed to large corporates and men. this is a very welcome development as one of the challenges to women accessing

is practically blocked for these countries because of a continued flight to quality? answer : i am sure that these countries will take the appropriate steps to face up to these challenges themselves. question : that means that they shouldn ’ t hope for external help? answer : the very fact of belonging to the single currency area is, in itself, a significant contribution to facing up to this situation. question : the financial crisis worsened considerably in the autumn. would the world look different now if the us investment bank had been rescued? answer : i don ’ t want to go into the major difficulties of individual institutions in september. it is clear to me that the financial crisis has worsened significantly since mid - september and has moved into a new phase. but even if all organisations that were in trouble had been rescued, it would have remained necessary for central banks and governments on both sides of the atlantic to take extremely bold measures in order to be prepared for systemic liquidity and insolvency risks. question : how do you explain the fact that, despite the ongoing banking crisis, the ecb ’ s statistics do not yet indicate the existence of a credit crunch in the euro area? answer : what is true is that we see a certain weakening in the dynamics of loans to enterprises. but the rate of growth of outstanding loans to non - financial corporations has remained robust in double - digit figures. however, since bank lending standards have been tightening significantly for some time and the financial crisis entered a new phase only in mid - september, we must observe all developments very closely and remain attentive to new facts and figures. question : the major investor warren buffett once described credit derivatives as “ financial weapons of mass destruction ”. do you share this view? answer : i wouldn ’ t necessarily use that formulation myself. but the level of complexity and lack of transparency reached in the production, marketing and selling of these financial market instruments indeed proved to be destructive and contributed substantially to the fragility of financial markets. question : the reputation of the ecb has been strengthened by the crisis. has it also profited financially from the brisk demand for the greater amount of liquidity made available? answer : i will wait for all our accounts to be finalised. question : in october you considerably expanded the collateral framework for credit operations. since then you have accepted more risky securities as collateral. how high is the ecb ’ s exposure as a result? answer : like all other central banks, we have been more forthcoming as regards our