and interbank clearing of fx payments, which enable the transfer of funds in euros every business day among system participants. in addition to banks with their head offices in the republic of serbia, participants in the system of international clearing of fx payments include banks from neighbouring bosnia and herzegovina, pursuant to the agreement on clearing of interbank and international payments concluded between our two central banks. i must also mention a great advantage of these systems, which is reflected in low costs for participants. participants can also carry out for their clients, within the same day, the transactions for orders sent until two o ’ clock. the success is illustrated by the steady growth in transactions. i wish to highlight that in 2021 turnover increased by 41 % compared to 2020. in 2021, turnover was worth 773. 6 million euros, and the upward trend continued into this year as well. i often like to emphasise the importance of international cooperation, which is why we launched an initiative with some countries of the region, among others with our dear colleagues from the republic of north macedonia, to join the international clearing of fx payments, which would further strengthen regional cooperation and increase economic prosperity. financial system connections can only be beneficial – not detrimental to our states and citizens. infrastructure once established will enable even greater exchange of goods and services, while efficient payment operations should serve as support and bedrock for that exchange. we know that digital payments are going along a difficult and long development path. the covid pandemic doubtless brought about the popularisation of digital methods of payment, which should certainly be one of the strategic objectives of each central bank. however, a cautious regulator must strike a balance between development and safety. our great writer milos crnjanski said that “ hope is the highest degree of wisdom in human life ”. so let us hope for the better. let us be diligent and creative, helping each other and working towards the joint interest of mutual cooperation and harmony. nothing is impossible for those who work tirelessly and with dedication. inspired by the name of the organiser ’ s highway, i wish all of us to always go along the paths of friendship. thank you for your attention. i wish you all a successful conference and plenty of health!

underpinned by a large number transactions, which is a desirable and an essential characteristic of a benchmark interest rate according to the principles for financial benchmarks developed by the international organization of securities commissions ( iosco ) ; ii. market activity in three - month negotiable certificates of deposit ( ncds ), which forms the basis of the most widely referenced three - month jibar, has declined both in nominal terms and as a share of wholesale bank funding − currently, threemonth ncd volumes make up less than 5 % of ncd issuance ; and iii. the current calculation methodology for the jibar is vulnerable to potential manipulation. in addition to strengthening benchmarks to guard against potential malpractice, the sarb has also been cognisant of the role interest rate benchmarks play insofar as they serve as reference rates for a large number of financial contracts. this implies that they have a key role to play in the transmission of monetary policy decisions and the cost of ( and remuneration of ) capital in the broader economy. while the sarb was initially at the forefront of the development of proposals on how this reform could be achieved, the mandate for determining a market - preferred choice of a reference rate to replace the jibar was given to the mpg. the mpg was then organised in such a way that it comprises users of reference rates from different page 2 of 4 pockets of the market, including members of the savings industry, corporate treasuries, the banking sector and the official sector. the mpg established five work streams, focusing on the different aspects of the project. these work streams include : i. the unsecured reference rate work stream, chaired by mr deon raju from absa ; ii. the risk - free reference rate work stream, chaired by mr andries du toit from firstrand ; iii. the data collection and infrastructure work stream, chaired by mr ruan roux from the sarb ; iv. the transition work stream, chaired by mr paul burgoyne from standard bank ; v. the governance work stream, chaired by ms elmarie hamman from the financial sector conduct authority ; and recently vi. the communications work stream, chaired by mr zafar parker from the sarb. collectively, the effort of these work streams and the financial markets department of the sarb has culminated in an important body of work that will underpin south africa ’ s transition to alternative reference rates. we see this