in september, we expect financial firms to be addressing this risk clearly and effectively. in particular, cyber risk is a matter for the board and senior management, not only for the it division. you can expect to hear more from us on this topic during 2016. finally, on the topic of regulation, i will mention that you will have seen a good deal of enforcement activity reported in the press in recent months. this reflects our approach whereby high - quality supervision must be underpinned by a rigorous approach to enforcement. you can expect to see this approach continued. the expansion in the scope of monetary policy, the adoption of a more intrusive approach to financial regulation, the introduction of new eu regulatory mandates, the ongoing growth of the investment funds sector in ireland and the professionalisation of corporate services in the central bank have resulted in a significant expansion in staff numbers. as our mandate expands, we expect continued growth in our staff numbers ; we anticipate recruitment of an additional 150 staff this year, bringing our staff numbers to about 1650. as we expand, we will begin the move to our new headquarters on north wall quay at the end of 2016. the layout of the new building has been designed to promote a collaborative working environment, which will facilitate the teamwork that is so critical to the delivery of the cbi ’ s multi - faceted mandate. in parallel, the bank is also reviewing its organisational and management structures. we expect to complete the design of new organisational and reward models in the next few months. the implementation of the identified reforms will need to be achieved in consultation with our staff representative bodies and within the boundaries of the fempi legislation. bis central bankers ’ speeches we are also responding to the growth in the activities of the central bank by implementing a new data strategy, in order to capture, manage and analyse the extensive amount of data we process in support of our regulatory and central banking functions. we will also invest in enhanced cyber - security measures to combat the increasing risks in this area. as i said at the outset, i am conscious that more needs to be done to build the level of trust among the public that the central bank will take the correct actions to safeguard financial stability and protect consumers. at a basic level, we believe that people will be more confident that we act independently and in the public interest if they have greater insights and understanding about into what is going on inside the bank. as a progressive, independent central bank, our ultimate vision is to

is not able to officiate for a period exceeding six successive months because of illness or some other reason. the law prohibits the bank of latvia from granting direct credit to the government for the needs of covering budget deficit. in addition, the bank of latvia does not have the right to buy government securities on the primary market. the bank of latvia has developed and is using the full set of the same indirect, market based monetary policy instruments that are used by the european central bank. on may 18, 2000, the bank of latvia was assigned quality management iso 9002 certification. movement of capital both current and capital account transactions have been fully liberalised in latvia. there are virtually no restrictions on cash and capital flows to and from latvia. the bank of latvia ensures the convertibility of the lats by buying and selling unlimited amounts of the sdr basket currencies to banks at their request. in 2000, the bank of latvia introduced the interbank automated payment system ( sams ), which is a real - time gross settlement system. it conforms to the relevant requirements of the european central bank and may be joined in the target system. brief description of the banking sector currently, financial services are provided by 22 banks and one branch of a foreign bank ( riga branch of nordea bank finland plc ). a representative office of dresdner bank ag ( germany ) operates in latvia, but it has no right to render financial services. according to the financial and capital market commission, foreign shareholders owned 67. 8 % of total share capital in latvian banks at the end of 2001. in 10 banks, foreign shareholders held over 50 % of share capital. the restructuring of the banking sector has been completed : the industry is almost entirely in private hands ( the state owned only 4. 5 % of banks'total share capital as at 31 december 2001 ). the state is the owner of only one bank, the state joint - stock company latvijas hipoteku un zemes banka, and holds 32 % of interest in the joint - stock company latvijas krajbanka. banking legislation general. the legislative framework for banking meets the eu requirements in full, and in some areas the requirements are even more rigorous. international accounting standards ( ias ) have been fully introduced ; banks'annual reports are prepared in accordance with ias and audited by internationally recognised auditing firms. practical supervision is very tight and bank inspections are conducted more frequently than in the eu member states.