to make it possible to deliver securities smoothly and safely versus payment across borders. further study and analysis on csd - rtgs linkages is expected to be carried out by practitioners. given that market participants and central banks are undertaking similar initiatives in europe with an aim of improving securities settlement across borders in the region, it would be conceivable that market participants in asia will start dialogue with their counterparties in regions outside asia to review the possibility of a cross - border linkage between settlement infrastructures. such cross - border linkage will enable market participants to settle foreign currency funding transactions against domestic sovereign bonds as collateral – this is known as crosscurrency repos – on a dvp basis by using safe central bank money. facilitating smooth and safe cross - border settlement will be expected to contribute to enhancing the convenience and efficiency of the japanese yen and jgbs, and eventually to raising the profitability of financial institutions. developing an infrastructure that will enable the smooth delivery of the japanese yen and jgbs anywhere and anytime will support the globalization of the yen – a longstanding challenge – from the settlement aspect. the bank is committed to enhancing payment services by utilizing the renewed functionalities of the new boj - net and to underpinning the the current operating hours on regular business days are 9 : 00 – 19 : 00 for funds transfer services and 9 : 00 - 16 : 30 for jgb services. the extension of the operating hours until 21 : 00 is planned to take place on february 15, 2016. those operating hours are expected to be used by financial institutions that have current accounts or jgb accounts at the bank ’ s head office. bis central bankers ’ speeches medium - to long - term growth of japan ’ s economy from not only the monetary policy perspective but also the settlement perspective. c. enhancement of retail payment services next, i would like to talk about the initiatives taken to enhance retail payment services. currently, the jba and the zengin - net have started looking into the issues of extending the zengin system ’ s operating hours and achieving financial electronic data interchange ( edi ). these also were included in the revised japan revitalization strategy, which was released by the japanese government in june 2014. the bank, as a provider of the settlement platform for interbank settlement in the zengin system, will play an active role to support these actions taken by the jba and the zengin - net. extension of the zengin system ’ s operating hours

interbank market, through which banks lend to one another, typically on a short - term basis. in turn, this improves the overall allocation of financial resources, including real returns to depositors and investors, and the channelling of funds to productive use in diverse areas of economic activity. director of ceremonies, in this context, it is a matter of public policy concern that money and capital markets in botswana are in a rudimentary state of development. as a result, there is a limited range of instruments and relatively low turnover and activity in the various markets, more so in relation to instruments for risk - sharing, distribution and mitigation. this tends to result in volatility of both prices and volumes, and limits the choice of instruments necessary for efficient financial and business management. for the banks, in particular, a diverse source of funds that includes a large number of retail depositors and structured long - term funds represents stable funding. this facilitates maturity transformation and support for the range of financial resource requirements of businesses, including infrastructure and utilities projects, as well as households. regarding the short - term interbank market, it is important that banks, although competitors, operate in a collaborative spirit to address any structural impediments to this lack of development and low efficiency, with a view to improving the flow of liquidity and its management in the banking system. the central bank should only be required to provide or absorb liquidity in the market after mutually beneficial trading opportunities among banks are exhausted. the bank of botswana already facilitates such collaboration through industry - wide fora that address issues of mutual concern related to market development in order to foster enhanced and effective support for real economic activity. it is, therefore, important that banks strive for constructive engagement, in this regard, in order to achieve the best outcomes in terms of effective policy transmission and enhanced contribution by the financial system to economic performance. distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen, as i conclude, let me thank the chief executive officer, mr bogatsu, the board, management and staff of fnbb, for inviting me to be part of this occasion. i wish the bank well and look forward to many more invitations for the opening of fnbb delivery channels or yet another “ brick and mortar ” branch, especially in major villages, such as mochudi and, of course, the rural areas. to bakgatla, dikgosi tsame, member of parliament for mochudi west, district commissioner, council chairman and