1980s, was quite likely to be followed by a process of trade liberalization at the level of individual countries, regional level as well as the global level. having taken the view that, at some stage, trade liberalization might eventually affect the balance sheets of banks thereby undermining their soundness, the bank of mauritius far - sightedly intensified its regulatory and supervisory activities in a bid to stave off as far as possible its adverse impact ; 3. there exists a solid body of research strongly suggesting that improvements in financial arrangements precede and contribute to economic performance. developing countries with relatively deep and efficient financial markets in the 1960s and the 1970s grew faster than those with relatively shallow markets. the bank of mauritius has thus been committed to initiate credible regulatory and supervisory measures with a view to strengthening the banking industry ; and 4. the efficacy of monetary policy implementation in a liberalized financial system depends greatly on the strength and efficiency of the players in the financial marketplace. we have a bank - centered financial system. in other words, banks are at the epicentre of our financial system. evidently, the players in our market are banks and bankers. banks are the medium through which the monetary policy impulses of the bank of mauritius are transmitted to the rest of the economy. the weaker the medium for transmission of monetary policy impulses the lesser is its efficacy in achieving the desired objectives. the medium, that is banks, had to be strengthened and hence the repeated emphasis on the need for a sound and solid banking industry. these have been the inter - related objectives envisioned in the approach adopted by the bank of mauritius in the last seven years with regard to the banking sector. despite a number of hurdles and unforeseen happenings, the bank of mauritius relentlessly pursued its objectives, for it is in the best interests of the economy to have a banking industry sufficiently strong to meet emerging challenges. all through the road traveled so far, the bank of mauritius has not been short of criticisms from commentators. in january 1992, the financial times carried a headline “ man bites watchdog ”. the man was robert maxwell. in the list of watchdogs, pension fund trustees, external auditors and accountants, institutional shareholders, the bank of england and a number of other regulators were identified as potential scapegoats. in private conversations and in the media everyone had his favourite scapegoat. some carefully avoided including themselves in the list of potential candidates for the scapegoats, as is the case in

##i to convert into a bank – i would certainly like to see cim finance ltd move in the same direction. i therefore congratulate your board, your management and staff for taking another step in widening the scope of your operations. i certainly welcome all initiatives that will deliver innovative financial services to the public. bis central bankers ’ speeches i wish you every success in your future plans and i have now the immense pleasure of launching the cim visa card. thank you for your attention. bis central bankers ’ speeches