of them. diversification risk the fourth major force shaping the industry is the continued effort of banks to diversify their income source. this is an ongoing and inevitable trend given the increasing competition in the banking market, but it has gathered pace in recent years in response to the increasing pressure on interest income. the net interest margin of the retail banks in hong kong as a whole has substantially declined from over 2. 19 % in 1997 to an annualised level of 1. 67 % for the first quarter of 2004. the new sources of income include most notably the sale of investment and insurance products. the key challenge for banks is simply whether they are capable of managing the risk arising from these new intermediary activities. this is particularly so when, encouraged by advanced technology, the range of products being offered to customers expands from plain vanilla types to more complex structured instruments. furthermore, the awareness of customers about their consumer rights has increased, thus exposing banks to greater compliance, legal and reputation risks when venturing into these new areas of activities. we have seen in recent years an abundance of cases against the misselling of products by banks even in jurisdictions with more developed financial markets. banks will need to properly equip themselves, including substantially upgrading their compliance and internal audit processes, in order to rise to this challenge. international standards the fifth set of influences affecting the banking industry is the number of key international standards that will be introduced over the next few years. these include regulatory and accounting standards, and basle ii is the standard most prominent in our minds. another example is the implementation of ias 39. the adoption of these standards will have profound implications for the operation of banks in hong kong. time is limited, and this is, after all, a luncheon speech, so i shall not go into detail about these standards. the point to make here is that, as an international financial centre, we have no alternative but to implement these standards as fully as we possibly can and as soon as international agreements have been reached on them. many of these standards will be, to put it mildly, quite onerous. in this connection, i wish to ensure you all that the hkma has been adopting a proactive approach in participating in the relevant international standard setting forums and in influencing the standard setting processes in the best interests of hong kong. we have also consulted widely in hong kong. insofar as the banks are concerned, there is a clear need for bank management to allocate adequate resources to the

olayemi cardoso : press briefing - international monetary fund / world bank spring meetings remarks by mr olayemi cardoso, governor of the central bank of nigeria, at the press briefing to nigerian media at the international monetary fund / world bank spring meetings, washington dc, 20 april 2024. * * * thank you for the opportunity to address you today. it has indeed been a fruitful few days of engaging with our esteemed international policy counterparts and stakeholders from around the world, as well as nigeria's investors. we came here with a very clear agenda and have held highly significant, intentional meetings – each one with an objective to further support the stability and ultimate growth of the nigerian economy. besides our meetings with multilateral financial institutions, and foreign investor groups with a keen interest on developments in nigeria, including a critical gathering at the us chamber of commerce, we had very productive discussions with leading international money transfer operators ( imtos ), where we collectively committed to doubling remittance flows through formal channels into nigeria in the immediate short to medium term. this target is both ambitious and achievable, and we're wasting no time in setting up a collaborative task force, reporting to myself, to drive progress and address any bottlenecks that hinder flows through formal channels. in the six months since assuming the position of central bank governor, the challenges have been significant, from grappling with inflation to addressing volatility in the foreign exchange market. however, with relative stability now achieved, particularly in the fx market, we have transitioned from firefighting to strategic planning across key areas. these areas include improving the ease of doing business in nigeria, to consolidate and sustain the gains through an efficient and transparent market system and boosting financial and economic inclusion for small businesses and households – interrogating all potential ways to leverage smarter use of technology, and remote banking to reduce the cost of transactions and expand accessibility to the financial system. april saw the naira emerge as the best - performing currency globally, supported by bullish sentiment from leading international investment institutions. our fx market is experiencing robust activities, with turnover reaching levels not seen in over seven years. this liquidity boost instils confidence among investors, businesses, and other partners, ensuring fluidity in their interactions with nigeria's fx markets. however, we remain vigilant, recognizing the challenges that persist, such as elevated inflation driven by rising food prices, transportation costs, and energy expenses. we note that inflation