proportion of what it needs, particularly in areas where the resources or inputs needed for production are widely available across the country. this thought process shaped our decision to impose the restriction on access to forex for 41 items that can be produced in nigeria. 24. there has been considerable discourse particularly on whether the restriction on access to foreign exchange for 41 items is driving local production, with some nay - sayers stating that it has constrained economy. productivity based on and our growth internal in the research conducted at the central bank of nigeria, there is strong support that the recovery of our economy from the recession may have been much weaker or even negative, without the implementation of the restriction on 41 items. our research supports the conclusion that the combination of the restriction on 41 items along with other measures imposed by the fiscal and monetary authorities has helped to promote the recovery. any attempt to reverse the course of this actions may have untold consequences on the growth trajectory of our economy particularly in our push to diversify and restructure our economy. in fact, recommendations are being made to the cbn that the list of 41 items be expanded to include other additional items that can be locally produced. 25. second, many entrepreneurs are taking advantage of this policy to venture into the domestic production of the restricted items with remarkable successes and great positive impact on employment. the dramatic decline in our import bill and the increase in domestic production of these items attest to the efficacy of this policy. noticeable declines were steadily recorded in our monthly food import bill from us $ 665. 4 million in january 2015 to us $ 160. 4 million as at october 2018 ; a cumulative fall of 75. 9 percent and an implied savings of over us $ 21 billion on food imports alone over that period. most evident were the 97. 3 percent cumulative reduction in monthly rice import bills, 99. 6 percent in fish, 81. 3 percent in milk, 63. 7 percent in sugar, and 60. 5 percent in wheat. we are glad with the accomplishments recorded so far. accordingly, this policy is expected to continue with vigor until the underlying imbalances within the nigerian economy have been fully resolved ; 26. development finance : in continued recognition of our role as an agent of development and aimed at ensuring self - sufficiency to reduce nigeria ’ s excessive dependence on imports, the cbn invigorated its development finance activities. we have maintained a particular focus on supporting farmers, entrepreneurs as well as small and medium scale businesses, through our various intervention

board meetings – these risks include for example, global economic risks, federal / state economic development strategies and fiscal policies, formation of asset bubbles, exchange rate risk, capital market depth, informal sector economy etc. the cbn was not organised to monitor adequately and analyse the macroeconomic issues and systems risks inherent in the financial sector. there is no overarching architecture to manage the risks in the banking system, linking economic indicators to macro - prudential guidelines and to individual bank prudential guidelines. as a consequence, managing the risks to the banking system from the impact of oil price volatility, cross - border capital flows, asset price bubbles and weak corporate governance did not have the necessary urgency at the cbn board or within the cbn itself. management information to analyse the risks in the banking system was inefficient. there were also data quality issues with the cbn ’ s internal reporting system and the research department at the cbn is under - equipped to access the latest economic data and analysis. leadership and culture issues included an apparent lack of political will to enforce the sanctions for infractions and a belief, supported by the imf that the sector was sound and that growth was a healthy development blunted the understanding of the real risks threatening the economy and the banking system. it was almost as if, having made “ consolidation ” the hallmark of success, there was a desperate need to remain in a state of denial rather than recognise that mistakes had been made and take corrective action. 2. 9 business environment finally, a lack of a sufficiently developed infrastructure and business environment has had a negative influence on the banking industry. the legal process, an absence of reliable credit rating agencies and poor infrastructure all contributed to non - standard banking practices. nigeria ’ s legal process is long and expensive and banks seldom pursue borrowers in court. few banks were able to foreclose on borrowers, and this led to borrowers abusing the system. basic lack of credit information on customers, largely because there is no uniform way to identify customers, has held back the development of credit bureaus and hampered customer credit assessment at banks, increasing the stock of bad debt in the system. 3. reform program 3. 1 introduction having discussed the causes of the financial crisis let me turn on to the solutions that we are pursuing. the blueprint for reforming the nigerian financial system in the next decade is built around 4 pillars. – pillar 1 : enhancing the quality of banks – pillar 2 : establishing financial stability