in which they exist and do business. after all, these same communities cannot be distanced from any economic activity, just as one cannot live without the other. let me, in this regard, take this opportunity to urge all commercial banks, non - financial banking institutions and other corporate bodies that are involved in community work and corporate social responsibility to please continue assisting the needy. there are numerous projects that are in dire need of assistance. and to all those corporate bodies that are actively engaged in corporate social responsibility programmes, allow me to commend you and urge you not to relent in your efforts to bring the communities you serve closer to you. distinguished guests i hasten to add that the bank of zambia has not been alone in this project to restore the mukuyu tree. the bank has partnered with the kabwe municipal council leadership with whom we have signed a memorandum of understanding ( mou ). this mou outlines the accountabilities of the various parties. for kabwe municipal council, the main accountability and responsibility will be to maintain and preserve the tree and its surroundings to ensure that the area is well protected and cleaned. the bank has also worked closely with zambia electricity supply corporation ( zesco ) who have kindly facilitated the provision of power to enable us light the mukuyu tree on a continuous basis. we have also worked closely with the national heritage conservation commission whose input has been invaluable in providing insight into the history and status of the mukuyu tree as a national heritage site. on behalf of the bank of zambia board of directors, senior management and staff and indeed on my own behalf i wish to thank all our partners for the good cooperation and oneness of vision that has culminated in the commemoration and re - launch of the mukuyu tree today. distinguished guests before i conclude my speech, i wish to pose a challenge to the general members of the public and in particular to the people invited to grace this occasion today. the mukuyu tree has been identified and depicted as a national monument under the laws of zambia. by this assignment the tree belongs to all zambians, young and old alike. my challenge to you all is to cherish it and preserve it. for the younger generation, i encourage you to learn more about the tree so that you can in turn learn to cherish the freedom that you have today in memory of all our forefathers who were sold into slavery many years ago. for our senior citizens, i request that

norman t l chan : new round of countercyclical prudential measures for property mortgage lending address by mr norman t l chan, chief executive of the hong kong monetary authority, to the media, hong kong, 14 september 2012. * * * 1. i am going to announce a new round of countercyclical prudential measures for property mortgage lending. 2. since the introduction of the fourth round of tightening measures for property mortgage loans by the hong kong monetary authority ( hkma ) in june 2011, the local property market quieted down somewhat – but for just about seven months. the property market began to heat up again in february 2012, with significant increase both in transaction volume and prices. cumulative growth in property prices was as much as 13 % compared with the beginning of this year. 3. the evolution of the property market cycle in hong kong is affected by many factors, including the external environment. with the third round of quantitative easing announced by the us federal reserve last night, there can be more capital inflows through the us banking system into the emerging markets. moreover, europe has earned some respite from its debt crisis following the announcement by the european central bank of its bond - buying programme and related judgment by germany ’ s constitutional court. so the sentiment in financial markets is likely to stay calmer for a while. against this background, the risk brought by the continued heating up of the hong kong property market on the banking sector will rise again. to enhance risk management of banks, the hkma has just issued a set of guidelines to banks, requiring them to tighten the underwriting criteria for mortgages where borrowers already have one or more properties under mortgage. 4. under these new measures, when handling new applications for mortgage loans for residential, industrial or commercial properties from borrowers who already have one or more properties under mortgage, banks must adopt the following three requirements : first : for mortgage loans assessed based on the debt servicing ability of a mortgage applicant, the maximum debt servicing ratio ( dsr ) shall be lowered from the current 50 % by 10 percentage points to 40 %. accordingly, the maximum stressed dsr shall also be lowered correspondingly from the current 60 % by 10 percentage points to 50 %. however, an applicant with just one property with outstanding mortgage loan will not be affected by this new measure if the new mortgage loan is for self - occupied purpose, or for the replacement of an existing property. second : for mortgage loans assessed based on