goods and services within the borders of the country. 3. preserving the value of the kwacha both externally and internally the reserve bank ensures that the exchange rate is stable at all times. thus it strives to ensure that : • 4. money that is in circulation in the country should be backed by an equivalent level of foreign reserves. banker and advisor to the government the reserve bank maintains government accounts and manages government domestic debt. 5. banker to other banks in malawi the reserve bank acts a banker to the commercial banks by keeping commercial banks deposits, which can be withdrawn by commercial banks when they run out of liquidity in their vaults. 6. acts as lender of last resort for financial institutions the rbm helps to alleviate liquidity pressure in the financial system. it does this by lending to banks through the discount window. b. delegated functions on behalf of the government of malawi, the reserve bank of malawi carries out the following delegated responsibilities : 1. establishment of money and capital market the rbm is the authority responsible for regulating and supervising the proper functioning of money and capital markets. it is responsible for the development of the capital market and for the provision of rules and regulations for fair and orderly market conditions. 2. supervision of financial institutions to promote financial sector development the bank carries out orderly management and supervision of banks and other financial institutions to protect their liquidity, equity base and ensure their overall viability and stability. 3. issuing of government paper and treasury bills the rbm is vested with the responsibility of issuing local registered stocks and treasury bills as a way of raising resources for government to augment its revenues. the bank also underwrites i. e. meets the difference in case of under subscriptions from the financial sector, the parastatals and the private sector. 4. administration of exchange control the administration of exchange control was delegated to the reserve bank by the ministry of finance on 2 june, 1965. • currently there are no restrictions on the current account. however, the capital account has not yet been liberalised. c. other functions 1. to promote development and economic growth in malawi the reserve bank of malawi implements several measures designed to influence the money supply and availability of credit, interest rates and exchange rates with the view to promoting growth, employment, stability in prices and a sustainable balance of payments position. 2. conducting research collecting and analysing economic data from the financial and other sectors for research and policy purposes. before i conclude, it is important

more access points and a broader range of financial products. we introduced the “ branch - lite ” concept to reach underserved areas ; the promotion of “ basic deposit accounts ” ( bdas ) to encourage account ownership among the unbanked ; as well as the issuance of guidelines on agricultural value chain financing to increase the flow of credit to the agricultural sector. all these complement our long - standing campaigns to promote financial literacy and consumer protection. recently, we have begun to harness the power and reach of the digital space to further push this agenda. the digital revolution underscores the importance of innovation and technology to ensure delivery of financial products and services to a wider segment of society. in this regard, digital payment channels have found their way into our payments and settlements infrastructure. under the national retail payments system ( nrps ), we aim to leverage on financial technology — or fintech — to bring about an inter - operable, safe, and efficient real - time digital payments system. just this april, we launched instapay to enable 24 / 7 low - value electronic transfers. these initiatives should facilitate the shift from being a cash - heavy to a cash - lite economy, a trend we observe happening across the globe. even as we provide an enabling environment for these technological innovations in the payments ecosystem, the bsp “ walks the talk ” by exploring ways to digitalize our own payments processes. you may have noticed that all medical reimbursements, regardless of amount, are now being directly credited to the payroll account. cashless payment options using qr codes are now available at our canteen and cooperative stores. soon, bsp employees may have the option to open their payroll account with other domestic banks. digitalization of travel allowances, as well as of our payment collections, are also underway. my fellow bspers, much has changed since the bsp was established 25 years ago. today, the momentum for progress and reform has not diminished. i could not be prouder to say that we have done this well and this much because of everyone ’ s invaluable contributions to the cause. for this, i, on behalf of the monetary board, also salute and honor the three governors who came before me — the late governor gabriel singson, the late governor rafael buenaventura, and former governor amando tetangco, jr. who joins us today to celebrate with us. thomas aquinas said, that “ if the highest aim of a