the global mainstream, to become a core building block in our efforts towards forging a more sustainable financial architecture going forward. similarly, decisions and solutions to finance need to also be considered on a global scale and not confined to any community or nation. bis central bankers ’ speeches of equal importance, the benefits of finance should be extended across all segments of society. despite the size and scale of our financial sectors in the global financial system, many households and businesses still remain excluded from formal financial services. globally, as many as 2 billion adults do not have access to a bank account. perhaps even more revealing are the findings that financial exclusion is not limited solely to developing or low - income economies. even in advanced countries such as japan, 3. 4 % of adults remained financially excluded, while in the united states, over 8 % of households are unbanked and 20 % remain underbanked. there is thus a still much important impact that finance can bring about. indeed, in various parts of the world, such greater access is already making a significant impact, particularly for small and medium enterprises, with its market size estimated to double to almost usd14 billion by 2019 from usd7 billion in 2015. there is, however, still scope for such access to be expanded to bring about more balanced and sustainable growth in the global economy. finally, an important aspect of responsible finance requires strong and effective governance. john locke, one of the most prominent 17th century theorists, refers to the concept of a " social contract " in describing the origin of society and its inherent need for governance. the erosion of this social contract and of governance would drastically weaken the foundations of society, setting the stage for its eventual decline in the future. this was evident during the global financial crisis. the experience serves as a strong indication that the own version of the " social contract " in finance should not be overlooked. this extends not only to governance but also to trust, which has traditionally been the social bond between finance and humanity. central to this is the realisation that financial markets cannot operate in the absence of trust, which in turn necessitates minimum standards for governance, ethics and integrity. this involves not only heightened expectations on the fiduciary duty of boards, but the alignment of compensation packages from short - term personal gains towards long - term value creation. in addition, corporate culture also have an important role in entrenching financial goals with ethical values, through the promotion of sound risk taking cultures and ethical codes of

on a regular basis and in times of stress, and acts as the lender of last resort. stemming from this responsibility, the bank has been undertaking initiatives to maintain continuously open core financial markets. the bank is also an active participant in discussions of financial system policy, both in canada and internationally. the recent crisis has prompted initiatives, both at the global and national levels, toward making the financial system stronger and better able to support longterm economic growth. a central aspect of this work is the establishment of a macroprudential framework for financial supervision and regulation. here, the emphasis is on systemic stability, for example, through appropriate capital requirements. finally, the bank is engaged in research to better understand the sources of long - run economic growth, given its importance in anchoring current policy. while progress has been made in our understanding of productivity growth, there is still a good deal that we simply do not know. over the next few years, the bank will continue to explore how relative - price shocks affect the canadian economy, including the reallocation of resources and its impact on productivity growth. the bank will also be further investigating the linkages between the financial sector and the real economy – for example, how firm and household balance sheets adjust to various shocks, and the implications for investment and spending. members of the canadian association for business economics also have an important role here. with your skills and responsibilities, you are in an ideal position to contribute to this research effort. conclusion two years after the onset of a global financial crisis and after three quarters of severe recession in canada, the economic outlook for this country, and much of the world, has improved. the policies that were put in place to bring about the recovery, are starting to bear fruit. although the recovery is likely to be muted, and effective and resolute policy implementation will be required, we are likely to experience positive growth this quarter, and a gradual closing of the output gap by the middle of 2011. a serious challenge lies ahead, however – that of continuing to improve our living standards against a less - favourable demographic backdrop. improved labour productivity is the key to meeting that challenge, and how we set about it will shape our economic well - being for years to come. meeting the challenge will involve all canadians : employees, business owners, researchers, policy - makers, inventors, and entrepreneurs. it will require creativity, adaptive learning, and innovation. the bank has an important role to play. by achieving the inflation target,