smoothed out the weekly issues of treasury bills and provided an advance monthly issuance calendar to the market. the bank also introduced online auctioning of treasury bills on a pilot basis, thus paving the way for the issue of single - maturity instruments on different days and for greater efficiency in the money markets. • we revisited our portfolio management approach – which was designed for a context where our reserves were a fraction of their current level – in search of higher yield without sacrificing quality and without taking unnecessary risks. as i mentioned in my statement introducing the annual report of last year, we had separate peer reviews carried out by both the bank for international settlements ( bis ) and the reserves advisory and management program of the world bank ’ s sovereign investments partnership. both reports have now been received. • any change in our portfolio management strategy is tied up with changes in our accounting approach and the profit allocation framework as well as with the risk appetite that is now warranted in the circumstances. we envisaged changing our accounting approach to allow for dynamic provisioning of expected losses from “ negative carry ” resulting from forex sterilisation operations. our first attempt to do this was unfortunately aborted with the bank thus missing an opportunity to rank among the pioneers of this approach which has gained wide recognition after the crisis. the disallowed provision had to be remitted by way of a second transfer of profit during the year. • the bank hosted the 7th meeting of governors of the association of african central banks in july 2008 and, in that same month, co - hosted with the centre for central banking studies of the bank of england, a seminar on “ inflation targeting, modelling and forecasting ”. later on during the year, the bank co - hosted with the african export and import bank an event to publicise the latter ’ s products to the mauritian business community. • the bank has been appointed as the settlement bank for the comesa regional payment and settlement system ( repss ). the repss project is now under implementation. • since the imf announced that it was increasing the number of african regional technical assistance centers ( afritacs ), the bank joined mofee in lobbying for mauritius to be the venue for afritac ( south ). we expect to report on this in more detail in the next report. • the bank has extended the coverage of the mauritius credit information bureau to allow collection of credit information from all institutions, including leasing, insurance, hire purchase and utility companies

harvesh seegolam : market conduct supervision in challenging times speech by mr harvesh seegolam, governor of the bank of mauritius, at the finconet / bank of mauritius international seminar on market conduct supervision in challenging times, pointe aux piments, 24 november 2023. * * * the first deputy governor and chairperson of the financial services commission the second deputy governor members of the board of the bank of mauritius the chair of the international financial consumer protection organisation representatives of the oecd, finconet secretariat chief executive officers of banks and other financial institutions chief executive officer of the mauritius bankers association distinguished guests ladies and gentlemen all protocol observed. i wish you all a very good morning or good afternoon, depending in which geography you currently are if you are attending this event virtually. at the outset, i would like to extend a warm and digital welcome to all of you on the occasion of the finconet international seminar which is being organised in mauritius for the first time. this year represents a special landmark as finconet is celebrating its ten years of existence. i seize this opportunity to congratulate the founders on their vision for the laudable initiative of creating a network dedicated to financial consumer protection. the turnout for this event, both physical and virtual is testimony to the increasing importance of consumer protection in the financial services industry. i am further informed that we have participants from all around the globe. ladies and gentlemen the financial services industry occupies a pivotal position due to its fiduciary nature. consumer protection is, therefore, a linchpin for a safe and sound financial system. this has been epitomised by the united nations general assembly, in its resolution on consumer protection of 22 december 2015 which recognized that " consumer confidence and trust in a well - functioning market for financial services promotes financial stability, growth, efficiency and innovation over the long term and that the recent financial crisis places a renewed focus on consumer protection, calling for effective regulatory, supervisory and enforcement frameworks in the financial sector to contribute to the welfare of consumers ". the un guidelines for consumer protection inter - alia makes reference to the establishment of appropriate controls and insurance mechanisms to protect consumer assets, including deposits. as we all know, the delivery of financial services transcends national borders. countries, therefore, need to take cognizance of developments at international level in 1 / 5 bis - central bankers'speeches strengthening their own consumer protection environment. a forum like the one today is the