today, we want to promote the equal access of all persons within our country to the conveniences of this nature that the financial sector provides. it comes across, for example, in the ways that we endeavour promote modernised delivery channels for services that do not impose the same product constraints as a physical banking network. it also comes across in simplified regulations to make it easier for all persons inside our borders to have access to legitimate banking services — whether they are employed or not ; and whether they are bahamians or not. also, recognising that a focus, rightly, is to keep illicit activities from infiltrating our financial services it comes across in being more attentive to those who could pose such risk, rather than treating all users and their transactions with suspicion. we will continue to do more work in this area. exchange controls have always been synonymous with the important tools we deploy to preserve the one - to - one value of the bahamian dollar against the american currency. 1 / 3 bis central bankers'speeches successive central bank governors have led reforms to liberalise these administrative processes. the constraint that you constantly faced on the speed of change was how swiftly the financial management practices and reforms on the government ’ s end materialised, to leave open a stable path for permanent change. another constraint was the speed at which the central banks ’ own capacity increased to manage foreign reserves usage through less administrate channels. we have made more progress in these areas than is even realised or acknowledged. the exchange control department has gone from being the largest operating units in the bank to one of the smallest. it is transforming more and more to data gathering and intelligence operation. today, firms in the private sector that have a positive nexus to foreign exchange earnings activities or those that promote strategic national development priorities enjoy direct access to capital raising in foreign currency. they operate within limits that would rarely constrain the small and medium - sized operations that should be engines of growth in any economy. now, the entrepreneurial set also has expanded access to establish businesses outside the bahamas, or to use such access to establish firms in international financial services sector. the examples of those who have taken advantage of these facilities is increasing, although not as fast as we would like. going forward, the key word for the central bank is being “ progressive ". we are open to reforms in our policies and administrative processes and to advocating when necessary, for pre - requisite reforms elsewhere in the economy that would make our

defined nine different categories of business model, ranging from large universal banks and domestic lenders to specialised asset managers. we then place each bank in one of these categories and can thus compare it to its european peers. like all supervisors, we ask one very general question : can a bank generate sufficient returns within a framework of suitable risk appetite and on the basis of a clear and sustainable funding structure? 1 / 3 bis central bankers'speeches for us, a business model is viable if it can generate such returns over the year ahead. and it is sustainable if it can generate such returns over a three - year period and through a full business and economic cycle. the first step we take when we analyse a business model is to map out the general strategy of the bank. we try to understand its main sources of profit and how they might be affected by economic developments. we then refine the map by comparing the bank with its peers across the euro area. as i just mentioned, this is one of the main benefits of european banking supervision. the next step is then to derive an automated score. this score is based on indicators such as the return on assets and the cost - to - income - ratio. and as i already said, we then complement the scoring with expert judgement. in doing so, we take a forward - looking approach. and what we look for are key vulnerabilities. we assess how profits might evolve over time. we analyse the bank ’ s strategic plan ; we take into account its financial forecasts and assess how it might be affected by internal and external factors. in the light of this assessment, we might adjust the score. the final result then feeds into the srep and guides us when we determine supervisory capital add - ons and other measures. as the ecb is still a young supervisor, we still need to learn more and dig deeper. that ’ s why, in 2016, we launched a thematic review of banks ’ profitability drivers at firm level and across business models. that review is still ongoing and will provide some more tools to support us when we analyse business models and monitor profitability. it will strengthen our ability to identify banks with structurally low profits ; and it will examine in depth how banks respond to weak profits – now and in the future. the thematic review will conclude at the end of this year. are we satisfied with the business models of banks in the euro area? are we satisfied with the progress banks have made by learning the lessons