are experiencing significant financial distress. regulators, lenders, community leaders, and consumer advocates also continue to be concerned about abusive home mortgage lending practices and other consumer credit practices that target vulnerable populations. financial education is especially critical in the effort against these deceptive practices. consumers empowered with the information to make educated financial choices are less susceptible to fraud and less likely to become entangled in financially devastating credit arrangements. trends in the financial services industry some may believe these trends indicate that market forces have hurt consumers. on the contrary, household and business borrowers have benefited from the technological developments that have enhanced financial services, and their remarkable growth. computer and telecommunications technologies have lowered the cost and broadened the scope of such services. consequently, specialized lenders and new financial products tailored to meet very specific market needs have proliferated. at the same time, the development of credit - scoring tools and the securitization of loan pools are opening doors to national credit markets for both consumers and businesses. deregulation has encouraged competition and innovation by opening the marketplace to the entry of new service providers and the expansion of existing service providers. throughout our banking history, markets have adjusted to respond to demand. these structural changes have heightened competition, resulting in lower costs and the emergence of increasingly diverse and highly specialized organizations. these entities range from banks and brokerage firms that offer their services exclusively through electronic delivery mechanisms to locally based publicprivate partnerships that provide counseling and financing arrangements to low - and moderate - income families. the role of financial education given the significant changes in the financial marketplace, some consumers may lack sufficient familiarity with the newer financial concepts to make sound decisions. in response, government agencies, major banking companies, grass - roots consumer and community groups, and other organizations have developed a wide variety of financial education programs. some are tailored to specific products such as credit cards and home equity lines of credit, and others are focused on specific consumers, such as military personnel, college students, or first - time homebuyers. yet other programs adopt a more comprehensive approach, teaching broad audiences about savings, credit, budgeting, and similar topics. all of these programs are designed to give individuals tools to manage their personal financial affairs and make responsible decisions about products that can improve their economic well - being. the financial services industry maintains a keen interest in financial education programs and provides significant support. a recent nationwide survey of bank - sponsored financial literacy programs at fourteen of the largest twenty - five banks, as well as other smaller

. we generate a lot of money from our economic activities and our development partners provide a lot of assistance to our country. in fact, solomon islands is one of the high “ aid per capita ” countries in the world. so our problem is not because we don ’ t have money. it is because we have mismanaged our money and corruption is a very big part of that mismanagement. and corruption is rife in our country because our leaders, we the people of this country have lost or forgotten that important value of fearing god. a god - fearing leader will not accept that “ yellow envelope ” pushed under the table. a godfearing businessman will not pay that extra $ 1000 to the tender board member to secure that “ road maintenance ” project. a god - fearing politician will put that wharf where it makes economic sense to have a wharf and not where his supporters live. a god - fearing school principal will not ask for $ 500 from me to transfer my child to his school. so we can see that corruption is indeed a cancer slowly eating away at the core of our country. but that ’ s not what our creator wants our country to be. we are meant to be a healthy, wealthy country, not a sick and corrupted one. we are called solomon islands, after one of the wisest kings that ever lived for a reason. and i believe that solomon islanders are wise people. but why are we allowing this to happen to our beloved country? how do we get our country out of this situation? i believe we need to re - dedicate and re - commit our country to fear god in everything we do. we all need to re - dedicate ourselves to fight corruption in our country. and you graduating students of su ’ u school who already fear god and will soon go out into the world and climb your new mountains, i encourage you to hold on strongly to your christian values and the fear of god. your christian values and the fear of god will enable you to deal with whatever challenges you will face wherever you may be. your parents, guardians and teachers have played their part in helping you reach this stage, the top of your “ secondary school mountain ”. your parents / guardians have invested in your education by paying your school fees and provided for your needs when at school. your teachers have also played their part in teaching you and imparting their skills and knowledge to you here at su ’ u school. this is all they can do and have done for