harvesh seegolam : celebrating the 55th anniversary of the bank of mauritius - adapting to our future address by mr harvesh seegolam, governor of the bank of mauritius, at the governors'meet, le morne, 8 september 2022. * * * a very good morning to all of you. it is with immense pleasure that i welcome you today to mark the 55th anniversary of the bank of mauritius. we have come a long way since the bank was officially opened on the 1st of september 1967. i feel privileged to continue the tremendous work that my predecessors have accomplished for this apex institution which has always been at the forefront of our economic trajectory. to commemorate its 55th anniversary, the bank launched the emerald jubilee bond on 18 july 2022. i am pleased to share with you that, as of yesterday, a total amount of rs6 billion has been invested by individuals. this is indeed a success beyond our expectations. ladies and gentlemen i will now highlight a few achievements of the bank of mauritius. you will all agree with me, that the world is a changed place since 2004 and we need to gear up to ensure that we continue to stay ahead of all disruptions and revolutions the central banking world is facing. in this light, updating our legal framework is key to adapting to evolution. we have already progressed significantly on our proposed new bank of mauritius bill. engagements are under way with the imf for their views also. we intend to submit a final draft to government for consideration in october. ladies and gentlemen the hallmark in the evolution of the bank of mauritius has been its institutional strength. during the five and a half decades of its existence, the bank has regularly come up with well - crafted policies. in difficult situations during the post - independence history of mauritius, these policies have fostered macroeconomic stability. more recently, since 2020, with the onset of the pandemic, we all as central bankers were faced with completely unprecedented situations and shocks which halted our entire day to day. problems and issues lying on our tables were of a magnitude and complexity we had not seen in living memory. central banks had to be bold in their actions and decisions, while maintaining independence as monetary authorities. being independent gives central banks autonomy for policy making to sustain macroeconomic 1 / 4 bis - central bankers'speeches stability, and to attain this very objective they had to look in the same direction as their governments to salvage the economy during the pandemic. we had to safeguard

and ensure the continuity of our financial systems, such that citizens do not lose trust in our banking systems. though the pandemic and successive shocks had different implications for our respective economies, the goal was to minimise economic scars to protect individuals, households and corporates alike. there was no one - size - fits - all solution as each country has its own specificities and, therefore, solutions had to respond to economic realities on the ground. in this vein, the bank of mauritius rolled out a series of timely, tailor - made and bold measures which protected our financial system. the bank of mauritius covid - 19 support programme included both conventional and unconventional, but very necessary, measures. after taking office in march 2020, my biggest concern was to preserve and protect the banking system. to do so, we had to launch a series of measures to avoid any contagion to the banking system from macrofinancial turbulences. we were concurrently faced with a decline in returns from investments of our foreign exchange reserves. faced with these elements, we had to rapidly deploy appropriate measures. when i look back now, i can confidently affirm that the measures have reaped the expected results. the banking system has successfully weathered the crisis unscathed. also, our foreign exchange reserves have remained at a level that satisfies any adequacy metrics, even the most stringent ones. today we stand at 15 months of import cover. furthermore, as inflows of foreign exchange plummeted – especially with the tourism sector coming to a halt during of the pandemic – the bank has intervened and sold a total amount of usd3. 3 billion to the market up to now. the sheer size of our intervention helped to contain unwarranted excessive volatility in the exchange rate. the proactive approach adopted by the bank has saved jobs, prevented economic scarring and preserved financial stability. as a prudent central bank, we have unwound most of the support measures by june 2022. we are now rising from the crisis with the production structure almost unscathed, though we are still battling with other challenges – such as high inflation and uncertainties for the global economic outlook. ladies and gentlemen to ensure the bank of mauritius fulfils its responsibilities effectively, i have launched several initiatives since i joined the bank in challenging times in march 2020. before this year is out, the bank will replace its current monetary policy framework – dating back to 2006 –