plan. in support of this plan, central banks within the region working in collaboration with the banking community launched a payment system integration project that culminated in the implementation of the sadc integrated regional electronic settlement system ( siress ). according to the latest data, the implementation of the siress system has resulted in 43 per cent of eligible intra - sadc cross - border south african rand payments for the participating nine countries being settled through accounts that regional banks hold on the siress system, instead of via the normal cross - border correspondent banking system. at this relatively ‘ early ’ stage of siress ( implemented july 2013 ), the high percentage of crossborder transactions being settled via the siress system in real time is significant, and it could in future have an even more significant impact on correspondent banking activity within the sadc region. i take great pride in being able to share with you that siress has reached the zar 1 trillion settlement mark in the last week of april 2015. we also recognise that the emergence of regional solutions such as siress, requires regional authorities to resolve possible concerns that may arise from regulatory requirements within their business process flows to ensure that matters such as aml / cft and exchange controls, where they exist, are taken care of. it is my hope that the development of these initiatives will lay a solid foundation for facilitating trade and investment in africa. leveraging of current infrastructure, efficient securities market solutions and future infrastructure solutions may contribute to facilitating the ease of investment in the continent. the regional initiatives are also paving the way for the achievement of the integration agenda of the whole continent and i hope that in undertaking the separate regional initiatives, open standards are adopted to facilitate the ultimate integration of these regional infrastructures. what africa needs is to get the various regional systems to interact with each other so that settlement can take place seamlessly across the region. i also note that with the aim of leveraging the hands - on experience with projects in africa, one session in this conference will look at the rapid growth of the regional payment systems and how lessons learnt from these projects could be replicated in other regions. the regulatory session should explore how, taking a proactive stance in coping with new financial regulations, moving quickly to adopt global best practice in the various fields of compliance and addressing of issues relating to regulatory capital requirements can lead to competitive advantages. it is also with interest that i gather that for the first time, the 2015 arc will host an african round of the swift innotri

the first quarter of 2011, compared with 6 percent of mortgages originated to borrowers in high - income neighborhoods. the higher rates of delinquency suggest that homeownership may have been a riskier proposition over the past decade for households in low - and moderate - income neighborhoods than in high - income neighborhoods. delinquency rates are higher, in part, because borrowers in these communities were more likely to end up in complicated or inappropriate mortgage products, unacceptably often as a result of unfair and deceptive lending practices. but borrowers in these communities may also be more sensitive to house price declines because they may have fewer financial resources outside of housing, and they may have had little equity in the property to begin with. 10 although investing in a home has risks, it also has positive qualities. households may feel more comfortable investing in housing than in other investments because houses are familiar, tangible, and provide concrete ties to the community. regular mortgage payments may serve as a useful savings commitment device. finally, homes pay out a “ dividend ” in the form of housing services – that is, providing a place to live. the housing services provided by an owner - occupied home – such as control over one ’ s own space – may be preferable to those provided by a rental. in making a decision about homeownership, prospective buyers need to consider the risks as well as the benefits – in particular, the possibility that house prices can fall and that such declines can have long - lasting effects on their financial well - being. the current decline in national house prices and the preceding run - up were, of course, unusually large even by historical standards. but even during times when house prices were rising nationally, prices fell steeply in certain local markets, such as texas in the mid - 1980s or massachusetts in the for a further discussion of the increase in lending over this period, see, christopher mayer, and karen pence ( 2008 ), “ subprime mortgages : what, where, and to whom? ” finance and economics discussion series 2008 – 29 ( washington : board of governors of the federal reserve system, june ). houses represented nearly three - fourths of total assets for homeowners in low - and moderate - income neighborhoods in 2007, according to the survey of consumer finances. in contrast, homes typically represented a bit over half of gross assets for homeowners in higher income neighborhoods in 2007. the median combined loan - to - value