the current legislation is limited to the financial sector. in view of this, the bank of zambia is currently developing a comprehensive credit reference law that, amongst other things, will have jurisdiction over all credit providers and data sources and will provide for the treatment of credit data. chairperson, allow me to share with you some of the key regulatory and supervisory issues that the bank of zambia is addressing with regards to the regulation of the financial system in zambia and the need to address the supervisory challenges posed by the global financial crisis. these issues include : the adoption of a risk based supervision ( rbs ), enhancing the legislative framework, the determination of capital adequacy, the introduction of a deposit insurance scheme, the enhancement of our lender of last resort regime, and the enhancement of cross - border cooperation through consolidated supervision of financial institutions. risk based supervision is a structured, forward - looking process designed to identify key risk factors to which individual banks are exposed. this approach entails closer interaction with banks and allows early identification of risks as well as close monitoring of the nature and direction of risks as they emerge. the banking industry has recorded notable rapid growth in the last ten years. this growth comes with heightened risk levels. the rbs provides robust mechanisms to ensure that banks have adequate risk management systems to mitigate risks. rbs systematically considers all key functional activities ( business lines and operational areas ) and, within each key functional area, evaluates the level of risk, quality of risk management, and direction of risk. the resulting risk profile of the bank, which is dynamic, will therefore change during the supervisory cycle. this paradigm shift in supervisory approaches requires a permissive legal and regulatory framework. in order to ensure timely and credible information for the effective supervision of banks and other financial institutions, the bank of zambia has been playing a key role in developing the bank supervision application system ( bsa ), which is a southern african development community ( sadc ) region initiative. the bsa is a standardized tool designed for capturing supervisory information, financial and risk analysis and provides a workflow mechanism for communicating the different aspects of the supervisory process. distinguished delegates, the legal and regulatory framework governing the supervision of the financial sector must provide for a fast and flexible way of adapting the banking system to the constantly changing financial landscape. the legal and regulatory frameworks in zambia comprise of the banking and financial services act, chapter 387 of the laws of zambia ; the bank of zambia act, chapter 360 of the laws of zambia ;

as graduates from the zambia institute of banking and financial services, your progress and performance will be closely monitored and you will be looked upon as role models. i urge you to set the standards for others to emulate. i am confident that all of you will live up to the highest standards and will not disappoint us. i once again congratulate you and your parents, for it is only through their guidance that you are able to achieve what you have today. i wish you all, especially those graduating and those witnessing the graduation of their loved ones, a joyful and wonderful day. thank you.