savenaca narube : launching fiji ’ s new coins address by mr savenaca narube, governor of the reserve bank of fiji, at the official launch of fiji ’ s new coin series, suva, 11 december 2008. * * * cabinet ministers members of the board of the reserve bank of fiji distinguished guests introduction let me add my warm welcome to you all and thank you for accepting our invitation to the launch of our new coins. we believe that this is a noteworthy milestone in the history of our nation and the reserve bank of fiji. as i will explain later, the change of coins is more complicated and difficult to do than changing currency notes. the logistics and arrangements are very different. we have changed our currency notes several times and will perhaps do so every ten years or so. however changing coins is a rare thing to do. we may be therefore witnessing a “ once in a life time ” event. for some of us, we may never experience it again. so, it is a very special occasion. we are therefore extremely glad that you could join us in this celebration. christmas is also around the corner so it is a good time for celebration as well. history coins date back to our earliest recorded history. shells and even turtles were used for trading in the very early years. as traders came to our islands, they brought with them foreign coins. british, german, mexican and even russian coins co - circulated in fiji for some time. fiji minted our first coins in 1934. some of us may still remember the pennies and half pennies with holes in the middle. they make very popular souvenirs now days. i am sure many of us still remember the three pence and the shillings. while we have changed our currency notes several times, it is almost 40 years since we changed our coins and this was from the pennies and shillings to decimal currency on 13 january 1969. in 1969 we had only 1 cent, 2 cents, 5 cents and the 20 cents. the 50 cents and the one dollar were still in banknote or paper form. we converted the 50 cents note to coin in 1975 and the one dollar in 1995. these coins have remained basically the same as they were then up until today. as i said, we do not change coins as frequently as we change currency notes. there is one good reason for this and that is coins do not get counterfeited as much as currency notes do. why? there are two obvious reasons

with a hard - bis central bankers ’ speeches hitting message as to what could happen with poor governance, poor controls, and not the least, ineffective regulatory oversight. i am sure that you would have deliberated on these subjects in your various technical sessions and fully understand the repercussions for not setting the appropriate platforms. ladies and gentlemen, we live in a time where transactions and products are becoming more complex, leaving institutions, both big and small, vulnerable to failure. therefore, establishing proper safety nets is critical. i urge participants, as you return to your respective countries, to continuously review and benchmark your operations against international principles and best practices. the world council of credit unions and international credit union principles on governance, operations and safety and soundness have much guidance to offer in these areas, as do your facilitators. the importance of innovation let me touch a little on innovation, something which is very important if credit unions are to remain relevant and competitive in today ’ s dynamic environment. i encourage participants to put on your innovative thinking caps. observe the products and services offered by credit unions in other economies and identify those that could be tailored in yours to increase your coverage. for instance, technology now drives the efficient and economical delivery of financial services and interaction with customers. credit unions may wish to explore the use of digital finance to facilitate transactions with members, particularly those in remote areas. also, inward remittances from our families overseas are a significant foreign exchange earner ; in fiji remittances are the number two foreign exchange earner after tourism and we received in excess of $ 339 million last year and are expecting more than $ 370 million this year – which will be a new record. you may wish to explore the feasibility of creating remittance - linked products for your members – as currently practiced in kenya and latin america, in partnership with the world council of credit unions. the reserve bank of fiji ’ s experience – support for credit unions ladies and gentlemen, i firmly believe that in order for credit unions to compete and grow in a progressive and modern financial system, the support and guidance of the central bank is critical. therefore, before i conclude, i wish to share a few of our partnership initiatives in a bid to develop this important industry. in march this year we undertook a survey covering 21 credit unions with assets totalling $ 125. 1 million. this allowed us to understand the structure and coverage of credit unions and will help us in developing an appropriate regulatory framework.