barry whiteside : assisting and developing small businesses in fiji address by mr barry whiteside, governor of the reserve bank of fiji, at the launch of the anz small and medium enterprises credit scheme, suva, 19 april 2012. * * * acting chief executive officer and head of corporate banking fiji, mr rakesh ram excellencies, members of the diplomatic corp permanent secretary for finance, mr filimone waqabaca staff of anz distinguished guests ladies and gentlemen ni sa bula vinaka and a very good evening to you all. introductory comments let me first thank mr ram and the anz team for your kind invitation to officiate at this launch of anz ’ s small and medium enterprise credit scheme. i would also like to congratulate anz and commend your efforts in working on a sme - focussed product line and for being the first lending institution to publicly acknowledge the adoption of government ’ s sme credit guarantee scheme. today ’ s product launch and announcement are testament to your commitment towards assisting and developing small businesses in fiji. it also demonstrates anz ’ s alignment to the objectives of the fijian government. why we need to support the sme sector so why should we place much emphasis on our small and medium sized businesses when it seems so much easier and less risky to support larger entrenched businesses employing many more people and which are likely to be way more profitable as customers of financial institutions? clearly the prouds ( motibhais ), tappoos, jacks ( khatris ), punjas, niranjans, manubhais and vinod patels of today weren ’ t always the way they are now. each have their own interesting stories to tell of their history of growth from small - town struggling start - up businesses with just a handful of employees, not unlike our smes of today perhaps. i have visited these modern day conglomerates and seen the photos prominently displayed of the single shop, that first vehicle and the family patriarch and matriarch. each business is proud of that heritage and i am sure you have seen the same and some of you here today could share similar stories. ladies and gentlemen, our estimate is that fiji ’ s sme sector accounts for around 12 percent of economic activity in the country. it is therefore, still largely untapped. consequently, our potential for growth is large when considering that smes in other developing countries can contribute as much as 40 –

market conditions. we consider the interconnectedness of economic agents, credit concentration and liquidity, and the evaluation and pricing of risks. our approach is pre - emptive to mitigate any undue risk build - up in the financial system, but we have also built up solid macroeconomic fundamentals that serve as buffers to weather potential external shocks. these safeguards notwithstanding, bsp continues to refine existing early warning systems, distress indices and stress tests. bsp is constantly developing financial and economic models that improve our understanding of how relevant variables move. trusted and dedicated team to be successful in mountain climbing ( like facing the challenges of the banking industry ) one cannot go up alone. it is not a solitary undertaking. climbers must learn the basics from other climbers, as well as help each other up from time to time. in our industry, this means we must develop close collaborations and relationships and encourage communication. i am fortunate that i have inherited a very capable and competent team bsp where each public servant contributes to the fulfilment of our mandates. we can also depend on the collaboration and synergies among valued stakeholders like baiphil. indeed we cannot do it alone. competent leadership ladies and gentlemen, possessing close familiarity with “ the mountain and mountains ” of banking, we could consider the bangko sentral and baiphil as the industry ’ s ‘ sherpas ’. we provide guidance and direction to others in the industry as we walk the same path. we guide towards the shared vision of upholding a stable and inclusive banking system. under my 2 / 4 bis central bankers'speeches stewardship, this will be pursued with fervour. as our fellow sherpa, the bsp counts on baiphil to take on even greater significance in this age of global convergence. together, we have to prepare the banking community by anticipating harder but more fulfilling climbs ahead. through continuous training and education, the banking profession will be better equipped and prepared to keep pace with the ever evolving financial services industry. tenacity and courage in the book, “ the last step : the american ascent of k2 ” / it is said that, “ the courage of mountain climbers is not blind, inexplicable, meaningless ; it is courage with ability, brains, and tenacity of purpose. ” in this industry, this is the same brand of courage we must have to achieve our goal of banking and financial stability. our courage is