christian noyer : current policy debate challenges – a euro area perspective welcome address by mr christian noyer, governor of the bank of france and chairman of the board of directors of the bank for international settlements, at the 4th bank of francedeutsche bundesbank macroeconomics and finance conference, paris, 24 may 2013. * * * ladies and gentlemen, dear colleagues, it is a great pleasure for me to speak in front of such a distinguished audience. as you might know, this is the fourth time that the banque de france and the deutsche bundesbank have jointly organised a conference of this type. it is held every other year, alternately in germany and in france. the fact that these two institutions sponsor an event of this nature sends a clear signal to the community of researchers : it illustrates the importance of research for the conduct of monetary policy. this is especially relevant at the current juncture as our understanding of the interactions between financial markets and the real economy remains incomplete. the work of outstanding quality presented during this conference could help influence the design and the conduct of monetary policy. the programme of this conference is very rich. it covers topical subjects that are of the utmost importance from the point of view of current policy debate. let me take as an example the topic covered this morning : unconventional monetary policy, which have been my bread and butter as a member of the ecb governing council for the already six years. after the lehman collapse, central banks implemented far - reaching unconventional monetary policy measures, first by setting up liquidity facilities and then, for some of them, by undertaking large - scale asset purchase programmes. measuring the propagation of these policies on our economy is a challenge. unconventional policies are typically announced in order to respond to specific economic and financial conditions. they are endogenous. and disentangling their effects from those induced by other economic and financial factors can be very difficult. empirical studies of the effects non - conventional policies, including pioneering studies by anne vissing - jorgensen, have proceeded through so called “ event studies ”. this approach consists of measuring the response of asset prices the day when a given measure is announced. the “ identification ” problem is solved in the sense that reactions by interest rates and asset prices on the day when a central bank announced a new non - conventional measure are indeed very likely to the caused by the announcement. this literature has for instance showed that the effects of the so called large scale asset purchase programs of the federal reserve. “ q

caleb m fundanga : the history and experiences of the financial sector and regulatory framework in zambia address by dr caleb m fundanga, governor of the bank of zambia, at the co - operative bank capitalisation consultative forum “ the history and experiences of the financial sector and regulatory framework in zambia ”, lusaka, 3 march 2011. * * * the honourable minister of agriculture and co - operatives, hon eustarkio kazonga, m. p ; the board chairman of the co - operative bank zambia limited, mr mulilo kabesha ; members of the diplomatic corps ; distinguished invited guests ; ladies and gentlemen it is with great pleasure and privilege to speak to you at this very important consultative forum. i have been requested to speak briefly on the history and some of the experiences of the financial sector in zambia. ladies and gentlemen, as you are aware, considerable developments have been recorded in the zambia economy in general and the financial sector in particular, following the liberalization of the economy in the early 1990 ’ s. these developments include the proliferation of banks and non - bank financial institutions, which have necessitated the review of supervisory policies as well as the legal and regulatory frameworks in order re - align them to the liberalised environment. a significant development relating to the zambian financial sector was the decision to relocate the function of the registrar of banks and financial institutions to the bank of zambia from the ministry of finance and national planning where it was previously located. this decision was taken in an effort to enhance regulatory oversight of banks and financial institutions starting from the licensing stage. currently, all applicants have to be evaluated in line with relevant provisions of the banking and financial services act ( bfsa ) and international best practice such as the basel core principles on effective banking supervision. the intention is to ensure that only applicants who meet these stringent criteria enter the financial system in zambia. this is crucial for fostering confidence and stability in the financial system. mr chairman, you may be aware that in the early stages of the reforms, a number of commercial banks faced serious problems and were subsequently liquidated. the closures were in part a consequence of the reforms. the reforms also highlighted some weaknesses in corporate governance arrangements at most failed banks. however, following improvements in the regulatory and supervisory frameworks, no bank closure has been recorded since 2002 and the banking sector has recorded significant growth. the growth in the sector can also be attributed to prudent fiscal and monetary policies aimed at achieving sustainable macroeconomic stability.