tarisa watanagase : bank of thailand ’ s perspective on the retail banking industry keynote address by dr tarisa watanagase, governor of the bank of thailand, at the excellence in retail financial services convention 2008, bangkok, 15 - 16 may 2008. * * * distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen, i am pleased to be invited to give the keynote address for this prestigious convention organized by the asian banker. it gives me the opportunity to share with you the bank of thailand ’ s perspective on the retail banking industry, which i hope would help both service providers and consumers alike to better understand our regulatory objectives and priorities. retail banking business in thailand has enjoyed rapid growth since after the asian financial crisis, as banks – having learned the lesson of risk concentration – began to shift their strategies to diversify their portfolios and revenues by making inroads into the retail market segments. over the past five years, bank consumer loans have grown at an average annual rate of 20 percent, outpacing the corporate loans which have increased three percent annually. as a result, consumer loans now constitute almost a quarter of total loan portfolio of the banking system in thailand, compared with 16 percent in 2003. housing loans continue to account for the largest share, followed by personal loans and credit card loans. competition in the retail banking business has been intense, with more variety of product offerings and new delivery channels introduced to satisfy customer needs. non - bank players have also been aggressively competing for market share in the personal loan and credit card market, although with focus on people in the lower range of income groups. considerable amount of investment has been made to revolutionize network channel, operational process, and risk management system in order to reduce the operational cost and service delivery time, and to manage risks more effectively. functionalities of traditional delivery channel such as atm have been greatly expanded, while new e - banking tools such as internet banking, mobile banking, and electronic money service have been introduced. use of atm, debit and credit cards continues to grow steadily, whilst internet banking transactions and use of electronic money services increase markedly both in terms of the number of users and the value of usage. modernization of operational process and risk management system includes automating application process, credit approval process, and increasing use of credit scoring models and credit information system. ladies and gentlemen, we view increased competition and innovation in the retail banking business as beneficial to consumers and the financial system as a whole. banks ’ loan portfolios have become more

caleb m fundanga : financing for gender equality opening remarks by dr caleb m fundanga, governor of the bank of zambia, at the official launch of the financial institutions exhibition in commemoration of international women ’ s day, lusaka, 5 march 2008. * • • • • • • • • * * the honourable minister for gender and women in development the country coordinator of the united nations system the permanent secretary, gender in development division the director, environmental council of zambia chief executives of financial service providers heads of non governmental organisations invited guests ladies and gentlemen i am honoured this morning to address you at the launch of this important financial sector exhibition by financial service providers, in commemoration of the international women ’ s day for 2008, under the theme “ financing for gender equality ”. the purpose of this exhibition is for financial service providers to showcase how they are contributing to financing for gender equality. it also provides an opportunity for the various institutions to market financial products that can be accessed by women. a further objective is the sensitization of the financial service providers and indeed the public at large to the need for gender mainstreaming in access to finance. international women ’ s day began with the declaration of international year for women in 1975. since then, many countries world - wide celebrate international women ’ s day to recognize the achievements of women without regard to national, ethnic, cultural, economic or political divisions. international women ’ s day is an occasion to look back on past struggles and accomplishments but even more importantly a time to look ahead to untapped potential and opportunities that await future generations of women. in zambia today we recognize the strides that have been made by women in national development and we look ahead at the challenges that are before us as we strive to achieve our goal of gender equality. in this regard, zambia is a signatory to many international instruments and conventions seeking to empower women. these include the united nations convention on the elimination of all forms of discrimination against women and the sadc declaration on gender and development. this declaration calls for the equal representation of women and men in the decision making structures of member states at all levels, and also for the achievement of at least 30 per cent target of women in political and decision - making structures. i must concede here, ladies and gentlemen, that although we have made significant strides as a country in women representation ; we are yet to meet the target of 30 per cent. i still believe that this target is not impossible to attain. with concerted effort we can