have an effect on longer - term interest rates comparable with that of purchasing mbs. my view was that the effects would be similar, because purchasing longerterm treasury securities removes as much duration risk from the market as purchasing current - coupon mbs. 6 the two approaches differ, however, in that purchasing mbs also removes prepayment risk from the market. if the market were to begin having trouble digesting that prepayment risk, the spread between mbs rates and treasury yields could widen. a significant widening of mbs spreads to treasuries, whether due to this or other factors, could affect policymakers ’ decisions about which assets to purchase. the chairman ’ s speech in jackson hole and the august fomc minutes both indicated that reinvesting in mbs rather than treasury securities might become desirable if market conditions were to change. balance sheet expansion as a policy option as you can see, the decision to simply keep the balance sheet unchanged involved a number of considerations and choices. let me now turn to the possibility that the fomc could go a step further and expand the balance sheet beyond its current levels. this policy option has been the subject of intense focus among market participants. chairman bernanke has indicated that any decision about expanding the balance sheet would depend on the fomc ’ s assessment of the costs and benefits involved. of course, that assessment is difficult to calibrate. federal reserve bank of new york president william dudley discussed many of the relevant issues in his speech last friday. 7 in terms of the benefits, balance sheet expansion appears to push financial conditions in the right direction, in that it puts downward pressure on longer - term real interest rates and makes broader financial conditions more accommodative. one can reach that judgment based on the empirical evidence from the earlier round of asset purchases, as mentioned before. in addition, the market responses to more recent news about the balance sheet also lean in this direction. the market response to the reinvestment decision at the august fomc meeting seemed largely in line with the estimated effects from the earlier round of asset purchases, once we account for the size of the surprise and the anticipatory pricing that occurred ahead of its announcement. and the increased expectations for balance sheet expansion in response to the september fomc statement also generated a sizable market response. to be sure, i think it is fair to say that this is an imperfect policy tool. even under the estimates noted earlier, the

michael atingi - ego : launch of the banking industry guidelines for mitigation of fraud and the revised code of conduct remarks by mr michael atingi - ego, deputy governor of the bank of uganda, at the launch of the banking industry guidelines for mitigation of fraud & the revised code of conduct, kampala, 19 february 2024. * * * chair, executive director, and members of uganda bankers'association ; distinguished guests ; ladies and gentlemen, good morning. thank you for inviting me to the launch of the banking industry guidelines for mitigation of fraud and the revised code of conduct. this initiative is a critical stepping stone towards restoring the bedrock of trust and confidence that underpins our financial institutions. " a typology study on internal frauds in the banking sector in uganda ", by the financial intelligence authority in june 2022 showed that fraud was rampant and increasingly sophisticated, with cyber fraud accounting for over 50 % of all high - value fraud cases under investigation and annual fraud losses more than doubling from 2020 to 2021. the banking industry has always faced the pervasive threat of fraud, a shadow that stains its reputation and erodes public trust. this threat manifests in diverse forms, from deceptive schemes by external attackers to criminal activities perpetrated by insiders and outsiders. fraud in the banking system fundamentally undermines the trust principle it relies on. when customers entrust their hard - earned money to financial institutions, they expect it to be safeguarded responsibly. however, when fraud occurs, it erodes this trust, leaving individuals feeling exploited and vulnerable. furthermore, the far - reaching consequences of fraud in the banking industry extend beyond immediate victims. it distorts market mechanisms, diverts crucial resources from productive investments, and can even cascade across entire communities, leading to economic hardship and social unrest. fraud is a termite that relentlessly eats into the foundation of trust upon which banks are built. and today, this threat is more widespread and sophisticated than ever before. cyber / internet - related frauds are rising in uganda, alongside loan scams, impersonation, identity theft, forgeries, and cash suppression. just look at the numbers. globally, losses topped a shocking usd 11 billion last year, led by the growing threat of account takeover ( ato ) frauds. account takeover fraud, where thieves steal login credentials to access victims'accounts and wreak havoc, is increasing in uganda, causing significant financial losses and