sector during 2008 and the first half of 2009, with a significant decline in the rate of growth in loans and advances. furthermore, increasing pressure on consumers continues to be clearly evident in the marked increase in impaired advances and rising credit impairments, which impact negatively on the earnings of banks. however, the south african banking system remains stable and banks are adequately capitalised. in response to the international financial market turmoil, the bank commissioned an independent review of all securitisation schemes in which domestic banks were participating in order to determine whether such schemes were being managed prudently. although no material issues were identified, the recommendations in the final report will be used as the basis for further consultation with the banking industry and for possible legislative and / or regulatory framework amendments in future. international co - operation the bank addresses itself to regional and continental programmes that promote future regional integration. the bank hosts the secretariat of the committee of central bank governors ( ccbg ) in the southern african development community ( sadc ) and supports the implementation of ccbg projects. the sadc finance and investment protocol ( fip ) was ratified by the south african parliament in 2008 and work has begun in the various committees. of note is the completion of the drafting of the proposed sadc central bank model law, which will pave the way for the harmonisation of the legal and regulatory frameworks of sadc central banks. the bank plays a leading role in the sadc payment system project. during the past year the focus has been on the efficiency of electronic settlement systems and the collection of payment system statistics. further work is being done on the interlinking of payment systems on a regional basis and the efficiency of remittance payment systems in the region. the bank participated in several initiatives to strengthen financial systems in sadc. the bank hosted or organised a number of regional workshops and conferences for sadc central banks in conjunction with international training institutions. these institutions included the international monetary fund institute, the bank for international settlements ( bis ) and the toronto centre. participation in multilateral forums such as the group of 20 ( g - 20 ) and the financial stability board increased in the wake of the global financial and economic crisis. south africa, as an active member of the g - 20, contributed to the formulation of the co - ordinated g - 20 response to the global financial crisis. the bank also continues to foster relations with the bis, and participates in a number of bis committees and forums, including the basel committee

is similar to the retirement age among european countries that have already raised it, and is at the upper threshold. the large gap between men and women in israel is prominent, and raises a question regarding the ability of women to save enough for retirement. the more the decision on an additional increase in the retirement age for women is delayed, the more it will be necessary later on to do so more rapidly, which will be more problematic. and what is happening to long - term savings? there has been a significant increase in the volume of assets under management by longterm savings plans in the past 14 years, from about 57 percent of gdp to about 90 percent of gdp. one of the significant processes behind this increase is the enactment of the mandatory pension law in 2008, which requires workers and employers to set aside a significant percentage of their income for pension. in addition, during this period, there was a gradual transition in the public sector from defined benefit pensions to defined contribution pensions, with all employees who began working in the public sector from 2004 onwards contributing to defined contribution pensions. the volume of assets increased, although it is bis central bankers ’ speeches volatile : for instance, the decline during the financial crisis, such that someone who retired at that time saw lower accumulated savings that he had expected. looking at the distribution of main assets in the investment portfolios of the long - term savings plans, we can see a gradual and continuing decline in the share of designated bonds, together with an increase in the weight of stocks, corporate bonds and investments abroad in the portfolio, so that the share of the components that are more sensitive to developments in the financial markets is expanding over time. in terms of the composition of investment portfolios by type of plan, we see that the in plans in which more veteran members save ( old pension plans and plans that ensure a yield ), the weight of designated bonds is relatively high, and the weight of the assets that are sensitive to the financial markets is relatively low. in contrast, in the investment portfolios of the plans in which new members are saving ( new pension funds, and profit - sharing funds ), there is a much higher weight given to investments abroad, stocks, and corporate bonds, which leads to higher exposure to developments in the financial markets. these investments finance economic activity and development, but are also exposed to higher volatility. the impact of the trends on the replacement ratio in view of the trends i have presented to this point, the interesting question is what will