is the bipolar view correct? ” journal of economic perspectives 15 ( 2 ) : 3 - 24. gerlach, stefan and rebecca stuart. 2014. “ money, interest and prices in ireland, 1933 – 2012. ” central bank of ireland technical paper 07 / rt / 14. honohan, patrick. 1997. “ currency board or central bank? lessons from the irish pound ’ s link with sterling, 1928 – 79 ”. banca nazionale del lavoro quarterly review 200 : 39 – 70. honohan, patrick. 2002. “ using other people ’ s money : farewell to the irish pound. ” history ireland 10 ( 1 ) : 34 – 37. honohan, patrick and charles conroy. 1994. irish interest rate fluctuations in the european monetary system. ( dublin : economic and social research institute ). honohan, patrick and gavin murphy. 2010. “ breaking the sterling link : ireland ’ s decision to enter the ems. ” iiis discussion paper no. 317, trinity college dublin. o grada, cormac. 1994. ireland : a new economic history 1780 – 1939. ( oxford university press ). thom, r. and b. walsh. 2002. “ the effect of a currency union on trade : lessons from the irish experience, ” european economic review 46, 1111 – 1123. bis central bankers ’ speeches bis central bankers ’ speeches bis central bankers ’ speeches bis central bankers ’ speeches bis central bankers ’ speeches

agenda on microfinance is the continuous review of existing policies and regulatory guidelines to make them even more attuned to the growing needs of the microfinance sector. we believe that with a well - defined vision and strategy for microfinance, we can easily identify and fully address the capacity development needs of microfinance players. initially, we have defined our policy agenda which is to encourage the establishment of new microfinance - oriented thrift and rural banks and the setting up of microfinance operations in existing banks. through this approach, the banking system can more effectively reach a larger number of e - poor. this would complement other microfinance delivery channels like credit cooperatives and ngos that have their own strengths and weaknesses. three important provisions in the general banking law ( gbl ) of 2000 formally authorized the bsp to fully support microfinance. in carrying out this mandate, we have drawn up a set of banking regulations that take into consideration the peculiarities of microfinance lending : cash flow - based, typically unsecured and short - term, high frequency collections, and often featuring group guarantee and other non - traditional forms of security. specifically, the bsp has issued the following circulars : • circular 272 ( january 2001 ) implements the provisions of sections 40, 43 and 44 of the gbl and sets out the regulatory guidelines for engaging in microfinance. • circular 273 prescribes additional requirements for licensing of microfinance - oriented banks. this was issued primarily to encourage banks to adhere to best practices and high performance standards. another requirement is for the organizers to have a good track record in microfinancing. as a minimum operational requirement, banks should have a loan tracking system in place that can adequately monitor and manage a microfinance portfolio. the same circular also provided for the partial lifting of the moratorium on the opening of new thrift and rural banks and branches to allow the entry of microfinance - oriented banks. • circular 282 ( april 2001 ) specifies the guidelines governing the rediscounting facility for microfinance loans of rural and cooperative banks. • circular 324, issued in 2002, expanded the coverage of the rediscounting facility to include thrift banks. in relation to this, we have provided rediscounting for 26, 966 micro - borrowers amounting to p219. 5 million, as of end - july 2004. we have issued several other regulations to provide further incentive