called “ front - loading policy ” ), and thereby allowed banks to build up temporary liquidity buffers. second, it lengthened the average maturity of its tender operations : before the turmoil, the bulk of liquidity was supplied through one - week operations, and only about 30 % was auctioned for three months. as the turmoil unfolded, the ecb gradually increased the share of the three - month operations and moreover introduced a six - month maturity operation. finally, it participated in the joint coordination effort of an increasing number of central banks around the world within the context of the term auction facility. more specifically, in collaboration with the federal reserve, the ecb offered us dollar liquidity to european banks at various maturities in order to satisfy the exceptional demand for those funds. i believe that all of these actions proved to be effective in easing the tensions at the short - term end of the global money markets and in maintaining control of short - term interest rates in the euro area. i am sure that global money and funding markets will continue to benefit from our very close cooperation in the times to come. still, term interest rates in the money market continue to be strongly influenced by credit concerns and, not surprisingly, have proved to be only marginally sensitive to changes in liquidity policy. as a result, the transmission of monetary policy for the economy at large is affected by the ongoing turmoil. i will now turn to this very question. 3. the impact of the turmoil on the monetary transmission mechanism during the current turmoil, the role of banks in the transmission mechanism of monetary policy has been brought to the forefront. in europe, as you know, universal banks continue to be important players in the financial landscape. this is why they also play a crucial role for the transmission of monetary policy, as upheld by several theories, notably the bank lending channel, and supportive empirical findings. 2 according to this theory, the pass - through of changes in monetary policy interest rates to the real sector of the economy is influenced by banks ’ ability to provide credit to firms. this applies, in particular, to banks with less liquid balance sheets, often the smaller banks. 3 with a bank lending channel, the effects of monetary tightening on the supply of credit becomes more pronounced. the european banking sector has undergone a phase of some structural changes over the past years. in particular, as in other parts of the world, the european market for structured financial products, such as asset - backed securities or collateralized debt obligations, has

help to create credit histories for financial market participants that may serve as alternative to collateral. message to women entrepreneurs and women ’ s organisations i am very pleased with your initiative to engage the central bank. you should equally engage the financial service providers individually and through their associations to make them appreciate the needs of the women entrepreneurs. you should facilitate training in assertiveness for your members and to take advantage of all available financial literacy education. you should encourage a good credit culture ( which is already embraced by many women ). you must aspire to grow from the informal to the formal and from smes to large corporations. you must not just wait for the targeted funds ( which have a role to play ) also seek to access other relevant products in the market. seek to be informed. make yourselves visible. message for banks and other financial service providers • explore the women ’ s market segment as a viable and profitable segment ; • create innovate products that respond to the needs and wants of the women ’ s market segment ; • find new ways of mitigating risk ; • promote greater workplace diversity and promote more women into senior management positions ; and • assist women to be more financially literate. on our part, bank of zambia will continue to create an enabling environment through policies, legislation and regulation that facilitate greater financial inclusion of women. chairperson, once again, allow me to applaud the sponsors, led by zafwib, for successfully organizing this important event on the month of the woman entrepreneur for the 8th consecutive year as well as for holding this year ’ s annual conference. as bank of bis central bankers ’ speeches zambia, we are delighted to play a positive role as it is a unique opportunity to build relationships amongst various stakeholders. let me also, in this regard, implore participants to visit the various stands in the financial exhibition and engage the financial service providers for additional insights into the theme for this year ’ s month of the woman entrepreneur which is : “ accelerating women ’ s economic empowerment – key to job and wealth creation ” under the sub theme : “ financial inclusion. ” lastly, i wish to sincerely thank lee anne singh, a woman entrepreneur for graciously providing the exhibition tent free of charge. i would also like to thank the banks and other financial service providers that have responded at short notice to mount the financial exhibition. take full advantage of their presence here. as i conclude, i wish you all the very best in your deliberations over the next two days, and