consider whether to apply sanctions next year. bis central bankers ’ speeches i am sometimes asked “ exactly how strict is dnb going to be next year? ” my answer to that is quite simple : “ strict ”. the next question then is “ but are you going to be thorough? ” my answer to that question, too, is simple : “ of course we are ”. if i then put on my other hat – that of the catalyst – it means looking at the issue from the typical dutch polder perspective and switching to my role as chairman of the nfs national forum on sepa migration. that role means working with everyone to make sure we take account of all the interests at stake and arrive at optimal solutions for us all. here, too, we regularly have to be strict. the overseer ’ s hat then comes in handy as there are times when we also have to take decisions. and not every decision is equally welcomed by everyone. the nfs is the sepa variant of what we are doing on a broader scale in the national forum on the payment system ( or mob, as it is known in dutch ). i often have to explain to colleagues from abroad that this forum works on the basis of equal participation by representatives of providers and users of payment systems. and, if you ’ ll forgive me this reference to water after what i said earlier : before we start work on, say, a project to build water defences, we first put up a coffee hut at the site. setting up the coffee hut is not our main task, but we would not want to be without it as that is where we agree who is going to do what during the project. this is also a model that could prove useful in a european context. as you may know, there is a sepa council at a european level, and i have attended its meetings on various occasions. but the sepa council still has too few powers to make a real impact. however, and despite all the good aspects of the polder model, we also have to admit, in the current climate, that not everything can be done in an atmosphere of cooperation and consultation. not everything can be voluntary. with the exception of our new sepa task, dnb ’ s oversight task is still based on a voluntary agreement, and that is no longer appropriate for the times we live in. the payment system has become far too crucial for society to allow oversight of the relevant players to remain entirely voluntary. we really need

michael gondwe : importance of the sme sector in zambia opening remarks by dr michael gondwe, governor of the bank of zambia, at the launch of the soweto branch of stanbic bank zambia limited, new soweto market, soweto, lusaka, 31 august 2012. * * * • the standard bank chief executive for personal and business banking in africa, mr terry moodley ; • the managing director of stanbic bank zambia limited, mr dennis kennedy ; • distinguished customers of stanbic bank zambia limited ; • management and staff of stanbic bank zambia limited ; • distinguished invited guests ; • members of the press ; • ladies and gentlemen. i feel honoured and privileged to be amongst you this morning. i wish to thank the stanbic bank management for extending an invitation to me to deliver a keynote address on this important occasion. ladies and gentlemen, i would like to begin by applauding stanbic bank zambia limited for opening the soweto trader branch. i commend stanbic bank as i observe that the trader branch is specifically designed with the small and medium sized enterprise ( sme ) sector in mind. this branch opening fully complements the bank of zambia which has set financial inclusion as one of its key strategic objectives. it is our expectation that the opening of this branch will provide opportunities for the smes to access financial services which for a long time have been lacking in this sector. the fact that stanbic bank zambia is opening its branch in a part of the city where most of the business players are unbanked is victory for the financial inclusion process which seeks to get more zambians banked and more smes access financial products. distinguished guests, the role that smes play in an economy cannot be over - emphasised. smes provide sustainable economic growth through job creation, development of entrepreneurial skills and the potential to contribute significantly to export earnings. however, provision of finance to the sme sector in zambia still remains a challenge. a survey conducted by the world bank on enterprise development in zambia ( 2007 ) identified poor access to finance as a major impediment to investment and growth in zambia. only 16 % of firms surveyed reported having a loan or line of credit from a financial institution, compared with 23 % for the region and 35 % for all countries surveyed. therefore, while zambia ’ s cost of doing business index has progressively improved in recent years, access to finance continues to feature among the three key constraints to investment and