banknotes. 4. improving efficiency and providing cost savings the new notes will be printed on what is known as polymer substrate or base material, which is more durable than the base material of the current banknotes. this will result in at least a 50 % longer average circulation lifespan of the new banknotes. consequently, going forward, the banknote re - order quantities will be lower, and reordering will be done less frequently. this will lead to cost savings and greater efficiency in the currency replacement operations of bank of jamaica. at the same time, arrangements are being made for the disposal of the polymer waste material without compromising the environment. in upgrading the banknotes, the opportunity was created to honour all our national heroes and heroine as well as all deceased prime ministers and premier, by incorporating their images on the new notes in the categories of : 1. freedom fighters ; 2. black empowerment and pan - africanism ; 3. fathers of the nation ; and 4. nation builders. i take this opportunity to recognize the diligent and excellent work of the bank of jamaica currency team led by deputy governor natalie haynes and including chevanese morais, donna hamilton - smith, adrian thaxter and others. i extend our appreciation to the printers of jamaica's currency notes – de la rue. their representatives, gareth evans and howard mollison are here with us today. bank of jamaica treasures the longstanding partnership with one of our trusted printers – a partnership that has endured for the entire life of the boj. de la rue has been printing jamaica's banknotes since 1919. the bank of jamaica is pleased to present this new series of banknotes, which will enter circulation on a phased basis in 2023. thank you. 2 / 2 bis - central bankers'speeches

lending obligations ) are stricter than the requirements for lending to small business, and these have tightened over the past couple of years. but lenders are increasingly treating small businesses as household borrowers, imposing the stricter conditions on small business lending. furthermore, property is a common form of security for small business lending – around 50 per cent of loans to small business are secured by residential property. the decline in housing prices over the past couple of years has therefore likely to have reduced the amount of money that small businesses can borrow. having said that, some colleagues of mine have done some work looking at the characteristics of firms that are likely to receive credit. [ 5 ] they showed that, while the size of the business is an important consideration in the lender's decision to extend credit, other factors are also important once you control for size and other characteristics. these other factors include profitability, debtservicing ratios and credit history. for example, more profitable firms are more likely to receive credit after controlling for the influence of other characteristics. https : / / www. rba. gov. au / speeches / 2019 / sp - ag - 2019 - 08 - 08. html 11 / 13 08 / 08 / 2019 financial stability through the lens of business | speeches | rba nonetheless, tighter credit conditions make it more difficult for small businesses to fund themselves or to refinance existing debt. it is likely to be particularly challenging in regional areas impacted by the drought, where many businesses are already experiencing difficulties. it is possible that these tighter credit conditions might push small businesses into failure and default on their loans. but any impact from this channel on the financial system at this stage is still quite small. non - performing loans in the private unincorporated business sector have risen a bit over the past year or so but they remain at relatively low levels ( graph 9 ). and lending to this sector accounts for a small share of banks'assets. graph 9 conclusion today i have outlined a view of the stability of the australian financial system through the lens of the business sector. in general, the financial health of businesses looks sound. and while some individual sectors and regions do face challenges, these do not currently pose a threat to financial stability. financial institutions are resilient and their exposures to these areas remain low. it is nevertheless important to keep an eye on developments in the business sector and remain alert to possible risks to financial stability from this source. https : / / www. rba. gov.