njuguna ndung ’ u : update on the credit information sharing project remarks by prof njuguna ndung ’ u, governor of the central bank of kenya, during the executives dinner to launch the second phase of the credit information sharing project, nairobi, 16 february 2012. * * * dr. geoffrey mwau, economic secretary, ministry of finance ; dr. yira mascaro and mr. ulrich matthias zeisluft, representatives of the international finance corporation and world bank ; mr. richard etemesi, chairman, kenya bankers association ; mr. habil olaka, ceo, kenya bankers association ; chief executives of utility and telecommunications service providers ; chief executives of various development finance institutions ; mr. carilus ademba, ceo sacco societies regulatory authority ; mr. ben nkungi, ceo, association of microfinance institutions of kenya ; chief executives of licensed credit reference bureaus in kenya ; distinguished guests ; ladies and gentlemen : i am delighted to be here today to make some brief remarks at this very auspicious occasion of ushering in a new phase of the credit information sharing ( cis ) project. on behalf of the central bank of kenya which is co - hosting this event with the kenya bankers association, let me extend a very warm welcome to all credit providers represented here today. we look forward to an interactive evening of sharing our past successes and identifying the opportunities for a broader collaboration between various market players. before i proceed ; let me thank our partners fsd kenya for sponsoring this dinner event and for their continued support towards the development and rollout of the cis mechanism in kenya. in addition, we are extremely grateful to the financial and legal sector technical assistance project ( flstap ), international finance corporation ( ifc ), and united states agency for international development ( usaid ) for their key contributions towards the early stages of the development and rollout of credit information sharing in the banking industry in kenya. ladies and gentlemen : the central bank of kenya has championed the cause for sharing of credit information because of our recognition that this tool creates significant impact on efficiency and expansion of the credit markets. much empirical work has been conducted on the economic impact of information sharing in consumer credit markets. the broad and consistent conclusions point towards ( 1 ) greater financial inclusion, ( 2 ) access to credit and ( 3 ) improved lending performance. enhanced financial access arises whenever information collateral is built into credit decisions. the outcome is : fewer mistakes by lenders ;

the rt hon sir edward george gbe : recent uk economic developments against the background of world economic activity speech by the rt hon sir edward george gbe, governor of the bank of england, at the chartered institute of bankers in scotland biennial dinner at the exchange, held on 15 january 2001. * * * mr president, lord provost, my lords, ladies and gentlemen, this is the fourth occasion on which i have been honoured to be invited to speak at this great biennial dinner of the oldest institute of bankers in the world ; and it gives me particular pleasure this evening to join you in celebrating your 125th anniversary. on the three previous occasions i have been able to report to you steady progress of the overall uk economy, but then, as a central banker brought up to look for the dark side of the moon, i ’ ve gone on to discuss the prevailing risks and uncertainties and to pose the question : can that steady progress be maintained? i will adopt the same format this evening. since your last dinner in 1999, we have in fact, come through the short, sharp, shock to the world economy, associated with the emerging markets financial crisis, relatively unscathed. our own economy has now grown continuously quarter by quarter for over 8½ years at an average annual rate of 3 %, which is well above most estimates – at least until recently – of a longer term trend rate of 2¼2½ %. retail price inflation ( on the government ’ s target measure ) has averaged 2. 7 % over this period, and has in fact been marginally below the 2½ % target for much of the past two years. short - - term interest rates – which went up to 12 % ( and tentatively even to 15 % ) before we left the erm in 1992 have been stable at 6 % for the best part of a year. helped by a decline in inflationary expectations, uk 10 year government bond yields have fallen, to around 4¾ % which, apart from a brief period at the beginning of 1999, is the lowest they ’ ve been for nearly 40 years. they are now just about as low as in any major industrial country with the exception of japan. and the number of people in work has recently been at an all - time high in the uk as a whole - and close to its high point in scotland ; while the rate of unemployment, on a claimant count basis, is at a 25 - year low, both in the uk as a whole and in