seen in a broader perspective, denmark has navigated the financial crisis fairly well so far. the weeding out of unsound banks has almost been completed, and after all less than 6 per cent of the banks became distressed – measured by balance - sheet total. despite the large house price falls, the number of enforced sales is limited – especially when compared with the housing crisis in the early 1990s. if we disregard periods of unsustainable overheating and subsequent adjustment, unemployment has not been lower for the last 40 years. denmark has sound economic ratios and internationally it is among the countries with the highest credit ratings. the reason why we have not been more severely hit is that we had the necessary buffers. all in all, this is no bad point of departure for meeting the challenges of the coming years. * * * in my seven years as governor of danmarks nationalbank, 1 / 3 of denmark ’ s banks have disappeared – in numeric terms. the decline has been steady over this period and is in keeping with a trend that goes far back – crisis or no crisis. danmarks nationalbank will gladly assist you in calculating when you will be able to hold your annual meeting at a decent - sized dining table – if this trend continues. as i see it, the most significant factor is the increasing bis central bankers ’ speeches complexity of banking. so if i may offer a piece of sound advice to a director of the danish bankers association ( chief lobbyist ) who wishes to continue to have a large number of paying members, i suggest that you give priority to clear and simple rules – especially for small banks. regardless of the path you take, i would like to thank the danish bankers association, its members, its employees and its director for our good and constructive cooperation through seven years. thank you for your attention. bis central bankers ’ speeches

loi m bakani : the importance of financial consumer protection keynote address by mr loi m bakani, governor of the bank of papua new guinea, at the cefi equity workshop “ smart campaign client protection principles training ”, port moresby, 21 october 2015. * * * acknowledgements 1. mr. marcelo minc, country director, adb 2. mr. cristian shoemaker, executive director, cefi 3. mr. amit gupta, manager, smart campaign 4. mr. muhammad awais butt, finance lead, good return 5. other workshop facilitators and organizers 6. managers and participants from participating financial institutions 7. representatives of development partners 8. invited guests 9. ladies and gentlemen. good morning ladies and gentlemen, welcome to this 3 day cefi equity workshop – smart campaign client protection principles training of trainers program, a collaborative effort of the asian development bank ( adb ), the bank of papua new guinea ( bpng ), the centre for excellence in financial inclusion ( cefi ), and the smart campaign. financial consumer protection & equity financial consumer protection and equity ( fairness ) in the microfinance industry are on the global finance agenda. people operating in the informal sector, and microfinance industry clients in general, are often found at the lower tier of society ’ s social - economic ladder. these segments of the population are vulnerable to economic shocks, and are least able to afford taking on new risks. financial literacy … knowledge of financial options, products and services, and consumer power in general, are often lacking. for microfinance clients, there are often information gaps, and inadequate re - dress mechanisms available to them. against this background, international commitments have been made at various levels to raise and address financial consumer protection. the 2012 g20 leaders meeting in los cabos, mexico, underscored the importance of financial consumer protection. that call is also taken up by many other international organisations, including the adb. as the financial inclusion agenda has risen to prominence in recent times, and microfinance institutions are one of the vehicles used to bring financial services to this segment of the population, the importance of financial consumer protection has grown. for microfinance institutions striving to reach and maintain sustainability, it is fundamentally important to work with this customer base by offering client centric financial services and financial literacy training, delivered by staff that understand the importance of financial consumer protection. a financially literate customer, one