by definition, elite organizations in which style and substance were inseparable. he believed strongly that the central bank had a sacred responsibility to the people and should be free of political influence victor bruce, the person was un - rivalled. blessed with dignified bearing, he seemed to be naturally cut out for leadership. his was a commanding presence. he was self assured, positive in approach, and a consummate diplomat. renown for unquestioned integrity and exceptional executive skill, victor bruce was the person first sought after, for any difficult assignment... and he always delivered. ever mindful of his humble origins, he was compassionate and most attentive to the problems of the disadvantaged. for his contribution to public service, victor bruce was awarded the humming bird medal in 1969 and the trinity cross in 1980 then the nation ’ s highest honour. victor bruce also found time to involve himself in the community through sport, the rotary and the church. ladies and gentlemen, dedicating this complex to the memory of victor e bruce is a fitting testimony to his pioneering presence and his considerable contribution to our financial sector and to public service. i would hope that this victor e bruce financial complex serve as an inspiration to young tobagonians, reminding them that they too are capable of achieving the kind of personal growth that victor bruce achieved by using the same keys of success – personal discipline ; a commitment to excellence ; and a willingness to work hard to achieve one ’ s goals. honorable chief secretary, i thank you sincerely for giving me the honour to participate in this most deserving tribute to a great tobagonian, a true national icon and one who paved the way for many to follow. all the central bank governors that succeeded victor owe him a tremendous debt of gratitude for the respect and the dignity with which he imbued the office. bis central bankers ’ speeches i hope that the naming of your main financial complex after victor bruce will spur all those who work within to the highest standards of performance, public service and integrity for these were the things that victor stood for. bis central bankers ’ speeches

be considerable. pursuing a very firm approach to steering property prices and credit will easily lead to a krone out of balance and result in adverse effects on inflation and inflation expectations. monetary policy contributes to stabilising developments in the economy. nonetheless, in some areas, the framework may lead to a situation where business cycles may be selfamplifying. in the following, i will focus on aspects of the functioning and regulation of the housing market and banking activities. the interplay between developments in the housing market and the credit market is important for stability in our economy. prices, investment and home sales show considerable swings. homes are important forms of collateral and price developments influence household borrowing and give rise to credit cycles. housing loans account for 40 per cent of norwegian bank balance sheets. 5 the framework conditions for the housing market are thus important for how wide fluctuations in output and employment are and for the risk of financial shocks and instability. the experience of the banking crisis in the early 1990s did admittedly entail limited bank losses on loans to households, and substantial losses on loans to business and corporate customers, which were affected by a fall in household consumption. banks may certainly refer to this when they assess the credit risk of their loans, but they should perhaps not be as certain that people will stand by their creditors in the future as they did 15 - 20 years ago. household debt is very high. attitudes may change and debt servicing discipline may also be influenced by the debt settlement scheme that has gradually become less see financial stability 2 / 2004, p 36, norges bank. including branches of foreign banks, subsidiaries and housing loans in mortgage companies. restrictive. 6 banks should make ample allowance also for this risk in their loan disbursement and interest rate premiums. it is important for stability in the housing market that the supply of housing reacts rapidly to changes in demand. on this score, our experience has been fairly positive with a high level of residential construction in recent years. the tax system should treat investment in residential property neutrally and on a par with other investments. several official studies in recent decades 7 – from sekse to skauge – have shown that the tax system favours residential property consumption and investment. this leads to overinvestment in residential property, displacing other types of investment. at the same time, the tax system makes it more advantageous to own a home instead of renting. through the years, the tax on the advantage of homeownership has