opportunity to provide greater consistency and usability in disclosures. over the past 18 months, various working groups of the gfxc, drawing on a diverse group of market participants and central banks, have been working on the review. the proposed updates to the code have been through a number of rounds of feedback with market participants through the fxcs round the world, as well as a public feedback process. i would like to thank the broad range of market participants who provided us with feedback. i would particularly like to thank the working groups for their hard work, especially given the challenging environment of the pandemic. the review of the code following this process of review and consultation with industry, the gfxc has published the updated version of the code. the july 2021 version of the code replaces the earlier, august 2018 version. in total, 11 of the code ’ s 55 principles have been amended. the gfxc has also developed disclosure cover sheets and templates for algo due diligence and transaction cost analysis ( tca ) to assist market participants in meeting the code ’ s principles for disclosure and transparency. additionally, the gfxc has published guidance papers on the practices of pre - hedging and last look to support market participants in applying the code ’ s principles in these areas. one area that reflects the development of the market is the role played by anonymous trading. the code has been amended to encourage greater disclosure by those operating anonymous platforms, including of their policies for managing the unique identifiers ( ‘ tags ’ ) of their users. anonymous trading platforms are also encouraged to make available the code signatory status of their users. recognising the value that data related to trading activity holds for market participants, the code now states that fx e - trading platforms ( including anonymous platforms ) should be transparent about their market data policies, including which user types such data is made available to and at what frequency and latency. platforms are also encouraged to disclose the mechanisms and controls by which they are managing or monitoring the credit limits of their users. the risks associated with fx settlement are potentially very significant and have come back into view again following the publication of the previous triennial survey of fx turnover by the 2 / 6 bis central bankers'speeches bis. 4 consequently, the gfxc identified a need to strengthen the code ’ s guidance on settlement risk. amendments have been made to place greater emphasis on the usage of payment versus payment ( pvp )

number of registered domestic and domestically incorporated international banks has led to augmented credit creation to local businesses compared to pre - liberalisation levels. previously, credit facilities were scarcely availed to local businesses. efforts are currently being made to establish a credit reference bureau, which should result in reduced information asymmetries and contribute to the further lowering of lending rates. it is also hoped that the bureau will provide an objective assessment of potential private sector borrowers and improve credit culture. timely, adequate and affordable credit is required in the economy to effectively facilitate economic growth, create employment and reduce poverty. mr president, ladies and gentlemen, financial stability which forms part of the bank ’ s mandate is a critical component of macroeconomic stability. our banking sector experienced an unprecedented structural evolution during the latter part of the 1990s when new bank entrants and eventual quick exits characterized it. the implications of a volatile banking sector speak for themselves. no doubt, the bank of zambia had met yet another daunting challenge in its role as a supervisory authority. even in the aftermath, the bank continues to deal with aspects of institutions in liquidation. however, one welcome outcome from this experience is the consolidation of the banking sector, which is much more aware of the constant need for prudent risk management and good corporate governance. from our end, the bank has also undergone a significant re - orientation of its supervisory techniques and approaches. these are now largely in line with international best practices and also constitute a platform on which we shall meet the future challenges facing the financial sector in the 21st century. ladies and gentlemen, from time to time developments are associated with setbacks and the bank of zambia is no exception. here i am referring to the issue of polymer notes which were introduced sometime last year. the introduction of these notes as we have explained at several fora was meant and is still meant to have cleaner notes in the economy and more importantly to have notes with a relatively longer life - span before replacement, than the traditional paper notes. with a relatively longer life - span, the nation would save resources because the frequency of replacing the notes would greatly be reduced. however, due to technical problems experienced by the printer, most of the notes have been fading faster than expected. may i re - assure the nation that we have continued to work with the printer and a solution is being worked out in the quickest time possible. needless to say that this problem has posed a big challenge for all of us at the bank of zambia. madam chairperson