who want to do business here. certainly, a growing financial sector needs to be supported and protected by appropriate legislative and supervisory frameworks to ensure that potential risks are minimized. malta has managed to host a relatively large financial sector without exposing itself to excessive risks. yet this has not been the case in other countries. we need to be on the lookout for potential threats to our system so as to reap the benefits of the financial sector without exposure to excessive risk. in the past year we have been under the spotlight and operators need to ensure that the appropriate regulations are carefully followed. malta should look optimistically to the future, not only because it has managed to ride the downturn quite well, but also because it has the ingredients for further growth and prosperity. a concerted and unified effort is essential to achieve our potential growth. bis central bankers ’ speeches bis central bankers ’ speeches bis central bankers ’ speeches bis central bankers ’ speeches bis central bankers ’ speeches bis central bankers ’ speeches

josef bonnici : achieving malta ’ s potential growth in challenging times address by professor josef bonnici, governor of the central bank of malta, at the ifs malta annual dinner of the institute of financial services, saint julian ’ s, 29 november 2013. * * * hon. minister, excellences, members of the institute, distinguished guests first of all, i would like to thank you, mr president, and your committee for the opportunity to share my thoughts once again with such a distinguished audience at the ifs malta annual dinner of the institute of financial services. before i do so, however, i would like to commend the ifs for its perseverance in adapting itself to the changing demands of a dynamic financial sector and its on - going commitment to excellence in the provision of financial services education. it is pleasing to hear that you had a successful year and that you are active on new initiatives to promote even higher professional standards in the financial sector. your collaboration with other organisations is also noteworthy. the presence of representatives from the uk ’ s ifs university college and the european banking & financial services training association is evidence of the quality of the service provided by ifs malta. mr president, well done and i wish you and your committee success in your future endeavours. the ecb plays an important role in averting risks as you are all aware, many of the member states of the euro area are going through fundamental reforms that would over time promote sustainable growth. this only can occur with the support of a healthy financial sector, including a banking system that provides the needed volume of credit at interest rates that reflect the european central bank ’ s ( ecb ) provision of ample and low - cost liquidity. over the course of the crisis the ecb has launched various measures to avert the risk of more severe ramifications from the financial crisis. in july the ecb introduced forward guidance, assuring the financial markets that its policy stance will remain accommodative and interest rates low for as long as necessary. as a matter of fact, the recent interest rate cut was consistent with this forward guidance. throughout the crisis, the ecb has played an important role in ensuring, within its price stability mandate, the proper financing of the euro area economy in a context of subdued credit dynamics. a series of measures were introduced to ensure that banks can pass on low policy rates to the real economy, in particular where most needed. these measures include providing ample liquidity to euro