##la. almost all of foreign currency excess liquidity would be reckoned towards balanced held for the maintenance of the lcr. we conducted a survey among banks as to why they were keeping rupee excess balances and the results showed that a sizeable part was being held by them voluntarily as a precaution. these balances have been estimated between rs4 - 6 billion, depending on circumstances. therefore, the analysis of rupee excess reserves should exclude these balances. and currently, we estimate that the true rupee excess liquidity in the system would be around rs2 billion, which is more or less manageable. in the coming weeks, we foresee rupee excess reserves to go down. the bank has recently been focusing on the 91 - day bill yield as its short - term operating target. the 91 - day bill yield, which is market - determined, can be viewed as an appropriate measure of the efficiency of the bank ’ s operations. the bank has successfully been able to manage liquidity by sustaining the level of the 91 - day bill, since march 2018, at a level consistent with its monetary 3 / 6 bis central bankers'speeches policy stance. the relative stability of the 91 - day bill also reflects on the rupee excess liquidity situation. if there would have been a higher level of excess liquidity, the yield on the 91 - day bill would have dropped. however, as mentioned earlier, the 91 - day bill yield has been evolving around the key repo rate. our conduct of monetary operations entails costs, which have a bearing of the operations of the bank. the correction of the interest rate disconnect together with the increase in the bank ’ s issue of its own securities have cost the bank rs2. 4 billion in 2017 / 2018 compared to rs1. 9 billion in 2016 / 2017 and rs1. 4 billion in 2015 / 2016. but, you will appreciate that the cost of monetary policy is nothing compared to the benefits that monetary policy imparts. the rise in the short - term money market rates has widened the spread vis - a - vis savings deposit rates. for instance, the weighted average yield on bills accepted at primary auctions has increased from 1. 78 per cent in november 2017 to 2. 91 per cent in february 2018 and further to 3. 60 per cent in october 2018. while over this period, the weighted average savings deposit rate has been around 1. 7 per cent. that ’ s why i have been

of a payment infrastructure through the national payment switch has been an item high and dear in the bank ’ s agenda. i am pleased to announce that the national payment switch is operational. a quick word on the global economic environment. at the time i had assumed office as governor, there was widespread optimism that the global economic outlook was robust. this optimism, unfortunately, did not last long. a series of events have created dimmer prospects for 2019 global growth. against this uncertain backdrop, domestic economic and financial conditions have remained largely stable and commendable. our concern remains the recent trends in private investment and exports. these issues need to be addressed to sustain growth and employment creation. i am convinced that each and every mauritian is proud of the progress we have achieved so far since the independence. mauritius has successfully reinvented itself in the wake of various global shocks and following decades of positive growth momentum, we have emerged as a resilient country. let all the partners – public sector, private sector, civil society, the press – join hands to capitalize on our strengths to tap opportunities emerging from our strategic location between the two fastest - growing continents, which are asia and africa. as winston churchill put it, “ a pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity ; an optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty. " i wish to thank all members of the board of directors, my deputy governors, mpc members and staff of the bank for their unflinching support and commitment, without whom the bank would not have been able to achieve so much. i also commend all economic stakeholders for their contributions to the economy. on behalf of the board of directors, the members of the mpc, my deputy governors, staff of the bank of mauritius, and my own behalf, i wish you all a merry christmas and a happy new year 5 / 6 bis central bankers'speeches 2019. 6 / 6 bis central bankers'speeches