s decision to transition from consumption credit to a more productive credit as the later will help contribute to the production capacity of our economy and contribute to the stability of your bank and ultimately sustainable economic development in namibia. 16. ladies and gentleman 17. on 28 october 2010, i ended my speech with the chinese adage “ a journey of thousand miles begins with the first step ” i believe we have taken the first step toward financial inclusion. we have travelled about 500 miles of that journey, we still have some more miles to get there, but getting there we shall. getting there, however, requires that all of us should continue to work hard as a team to create a sustainable and an inclusive financial sector for our children and their children ’ s future. i believe, letshego is one of the trailblazers on this journey, we look forward to continue travelling with you. i thank you for your kind attention iipumbu shiimi.

. a study2 by economists from the oecd suggests that a comprehensive package of labour, product, tax and pension reforms could raise gdp per capita in the eu by about 11 % after ten years. for the us, the growth potential of structural reforms is 5 %, less than half compared to the eu. and gains in europe are by no means restricted to the peripheral countries. ranked 111th in the world bank doing business category “ ease of starting a business ”, for instance, germany has ample room for improvement as well. to me, there can be no doubt. for the euro area to take off, we need to follow through on structural reforms. 4. reforms for stability ladies and gentlemen, reforms are needed to remove barriers for investment and growth. but once take - off speed has been reached, it is equally important to ensure that the euro area is resilient enough to withstand turbulences. in this regard, a sound financial system is crucial. what is the yardstick of success with regard to this? to me, it is simple enough : the financial markets have – at least in principle – to work like any other market, and this pertains particularly to market entry, market exit and market power. the problem of too big to fail is one of market exit and market power. if the exit of a single financial institution can jeopardise the whole system, the stability of this system obviously leaves much to be desired. but the market power of the institution in question derived from this phenomenon gives rise to even further risks. if a bank knows it will be bailed out no matter what happens, it will be less diligent when deciding on and monitoring loans. and as we have learned the hard way in the euro area, careless lending can and will eventually come back to haunt you. with regard to the problem of market exit, much has already been achieved in the euro area in the context of the banking union. the single supervisory mechanism ensures supervision at arm ’ s length, guided by the same, strict standards. excessive bank risks should hence be detected earlier. and if push comes to shove and a bank is no longer viable, the single resolution mechanism stipulates that shareholders and creditors are first in line to bear banks ’ losses – and not the taxpayer. however, history has shown that fear of contagion effects is a strong deterrent when it comes to actually resolving an important bank. and whether bailing in creditors would lead to contagion