caleb m fundanga : winning with leasing speech by dr caleb m fundanga, governor of the bank of zambia, at the “ winning with leasing ” seminar, lusaka, 21 - 23 february 2007. * * * • mr chairman • chief executives and representatives of banks and leasing companies • representatives of businesses organizations ; • distinguished ladies and gentlemen let me first express my sincere gratitude for being invited to officiate at this important regional leasing seminar. it is my hope that this interaction will give us a better understanding and appreciation of the important contributions that the leasing sector has made and continues to make to the economic growth of this country. as the title of the seminar “ winning with leasing ” suggests, it is only by winning in all our efforts that we will provide meaningful contributions to the development of this country. mr chairman, before i talk about your role in the growth of the economy, allow me to first give a brief account of the macroeconomic developments in zambia in the recent past. i know that many of you have been following the economic developments in the country. the economy has performed relatively well in recent years, with positive real gross domestic product ( gdp ) growth and inflation as well as interest rates coming down. during the period 2001 - 2005, growth in real gdp averaged around 5 % per annum. more recently, in 2006, it is estimated that the economy grew by close to 6 %, marking the eighth consecutive year of positive real growth in output. this positive economic growth has been broad - based, extending beyond the recovery of the mining sector and has withstood adverse shocks, such as, droughts and increases in oil prices. for example in 2006, real gdp growth was largely driven by the mining, construction, and transport sectors. other sectors that registered positive growth were agriculture, tourism, manufacturing, wholesale and retail trade and the services sectors. ladies and gentlemen, bringing inflation down to single digits has been government ’ s goal for a long time. therefore, it is pleasing to note that last year inflation fell to its lowest level in 30 years. at end december 2006, the annual rate of inflation had fallen to 8. 2 % compared to the annual target of 10 % and the 15. 9 % outturn in 2005. in january 2007, it remained in single digit level of 9. 8 %. these unprecedented developments in inflation have been due to continued implementation of prudent monetary and fiscal policies, coupled with increased food supply. in line with lower inflation and yields on government

##ntial bis central bankers ’ speeches supervision. it will be particularly important to strike the right balance between ensuring fair competition by treating the same risks equally and, at the same time, allowing for varying market and banking structures as far as these cater for the heterogeneous needs of the real economy. however, this supervisory approach must not exist only on paper, but must also be infused with life. i see ese as playing an important role here. ese can support us supervisors in conveying the new supervisory standards and thus make a crucial contribution to consistent and high - quality supervisory practice in the ssm. as supervisors in a system currently encompassing 17, and soon 18 countries, however, we need not only technical expertise but also communication and teamworking skills. we need not only specialists but also first - class networkers. this corresponds to ese ’ s approach, which from the beginning was aimed at creating a joint european supervisory culture. and this is why there has always traditionally been a social event at each ese seminar. this conference is no exception, and i am already looking forward to an evening of exciting and stimulating conversation. 5. conclusion ladies and gentlemen, ese can look back upon a successful history, and i am convinced that the ssm will make good use of ese ’ s expert knowledge and experience. i wish the organisers of the european supervisors education initiative and all their helping hands every success for the coming challenges. there are two thoughts i want to leave you with before i invite you to help yourselves at the buffet and look more closely at the works of art under the motto of “ frankfurt, goethe, money ”. the first thought is : the banking union can succeed only if every single one of us, supervisors and supervised alike, is ready to take action and welcome the new. the second thought is – and this is addressed not only to the ese seminar participants, but to all parties involved in the banking union – we must be willing to keep learning, to open ourselves to new ideas and experiences, and to bring along the “ doubting thomases ”, the hesitant ones, for the ride. the bundesbank will make every effort to support this process – with words, and with deeds. thank you for your attention. bis central bankers ’ speeches