2. 6 per cent ). the effects of the recession on banks ’ profits are already significant. for the five largest groups, although their operating income held up well, their first - half profits fell by nearly 60 per cent compared with the first half of 2008 owing to the increase in provisions against credit risk. since the beginning of 2009, financial analysts have repeatedly revised their profit forecasts downwards. earnings are expected to recover only in 2011, and even then they will remain below the results achieved in 2008. it is essential that banks allocate a significant volume of resources to strengthening their capital bases. they must use all the instruments available to increase their capital. they have already begun to do so, with public recapitalizations, the recourse to the private capital market, and asset sales. italian tax rules set strict limits on the deductibility of loan writedowns from taxable income, stricter than those in force in other major european countries. this leads to substantial deferred tax assets that, looking ahead, new regulations will not allow to be included in banks ’ regulatory capital. we hope that the willingness of the government to re - examine these aspects of the tax rules, in relation to the performance of the moratorium on bank debt, will be translated into concrete measures that will remove this obstacle to the expansion of credit. the changes on the horizon of the international regulatory and market landscape closely concern italian banks. under the new arrangements that will prevail at global level, much more capital will be needed than in the past. it will have to be attracted and remunerated in an earnings setting that will be constrained by greater competition. this strategic challenge can only be won by banks able to improve the quality of their services and increase their efficiency. italian banks have already demonstrated in years past that they can increase productivity. comparisons made by the bank of italy and the bundesbank show how technological progress and the achievement of economies of scale through concentrations fostered an increase in banking sector productivity in both countries in the decade that began in the mid1990s. but productivity in italy, initially lower, grew at a higher average annual rate ( about 3 per cent ) than in germany, benefiting among other things from the privatization process under way in that period. italian banks must also win another strategic challenge. they came out of the crisis fundamentally unharmed ; they must turn this favourable position into an edge over their competitors and a benefit for their customers. 3. transparency and

gill marcus : south africa ’ s new banknotes address by ms gill marcus, governor of the south african reserve bank, at the launch of the communications campaign for the mandela banknote series, pretoria, 5 september 2012. * * * good morning and thank you for being with us today. i know a number of you have travelled from abroad to be here, and we appreciate your attendance and participation. today is a momentous occasion. the south african reserve bank is launching a communication campaign to showcase the country ’ s new banknote series and to inform the public about the unique features of south africa ’ s new banknotes. the front of the new banknotes feature the image of south africa ’ s first democratically elected president, nelson mandela. the reverse side of each denomination features an image of one of the “ big five ” animals. the new notes have the same denominations, sizes and colours as the existing series, which was adopted twenty years ago. the design and production of this new series of banknotes has been a long but exciting journey for the reserve bank and our key partners in the public and private sectors. a country ’ s currency is a fundamental component of its national identity. it should be a reflection of its culture and heritage. south africa ’ s banknotes have reflected aspects of its culture and heritage since the inception of the south african rand in 1961. in earlier days, south african banknotes featured such diverse images as that of jan van riebeeck, and later the “ big five ”. what will surely become known as the “ mandela banknote series ” reflects south africa ’ s pride as a nation and pays tribute to a much - loved world icon. to give a brief history of south african banknotes : about 230 years ago the dutch governor joachim van plettenberg first introduced paper money in the cape. all the notes had to be handwritten because there was no printing press in the cape. the money featured a government fiscal hand stamp that showed the value of the money and the authority date of the issue. it was only in 1803 that notes were printed, but they still bore the fiscal hand stamp. the early currency, including the rix dollar and stiver denominations, played a significant role in the early economic development of our country. south africa later used the british pound sterling as its currency until 1961, when the rand was introduced. the “ big five ” theme was adopted after the unbanning of political parties and the release of political prisoners, reflecting what