mark carney : summary of the latest monetary policy report opening statement by mr mark carney, governor of the bank of canada, at the press conference following the release of the monetary policy report, ottawa, 13 april 2011. * * * good morning. tiff and i are pleased to be here with you today to discuss the april monetary policy report, which the bank published this morning. as anticipated in january, the global economic recovery is becoming more firmly entrenched and is expected to continue at a steady pace. in the united states, growth is solidifying, although consolidation of household and, ultimately, government balance sheets will limit the pace of the expansion. european growth has strengthened, despite ongoing sovereign debt and banking challenges in the periphery. the disasters that struck japan in march will severely affect its economic activity in the first half of this year. the resulting disruptions to global supply chains are projected to reduce the growth in the canadian economy in this quarter by about half of a percentage point, with that lost activity likely to be recovered in subsequent quarters. robust demand from emerging - market economies is driving the underlying strength in commodity prices, which is being further reinforced by supply shocks arising from recent geopolitical events. these price increases, combined with persistent excess demand conditions in major emes, are contributing to broader global inflationary pressures. despite the significant challenges that weigh on the global outlook, financial conditions remain very stimulative and investors have become noticeably less risk averse. in canada, recent economic activity has been stronger than anticipated, although the profile is largely consistent with the underlying dynamics outlined in january. aggregate demand is rebalancing toward business investment and net exports, and away from government and household expenditures. as in january, the bank expects business investment to continue to rise rapidly and the growth of consumer spending to evolve broadly in line with that of personal disposable income, although higher terms of trade and wealth are likely to support a slightly stronger profile for household expenditures than previously projected. in contrast, the improvement in net exports is expected to be further restrained by ongoing competitiveness challenges, including headwinds from the persistent strength in the canadian dollar. overall, the bank projects that the economy will expand by 2. 9 per cent in 2011 and 2. 6 per cent in 2012. growth in 2013 is expected to equal that of potential output, at 2. 1 per cent. the bank expects that the economy will return to capacity in the middle of 2012, two quarters earlier than

njuguna ndung ’ u : survey on bank charges and lending rates in kenya speaking notes of prof njuguna ndung ’ u, governor of the central bank of kenya, at the launch of the survey on bank charges and lending rates, nairobi, 28 august 2007. * * * mrs. jacinta mwatela, deputy governor of the central bank of kenya ; mr. richard etemesi, chairman of the kenya bankers association ; ms. caroline pulver, representative of the financial sector deepening trust ; representatives of the kenya bankers association ; distinguished guests ; colleagues ; ladies and gentlemen : i would like to start by first thanking all of you for accepting our invitation to attend the launch of this survey on bank charges and lending rates. allow me at this early juncture to extend a special vote of thanks to the financial sector deepening ( fsd ) trust, kenya for partnering with us on this key initiative. i would also like to acknowledge the efforts of research international, tell - em ltd. and the central bank team that worked on this project. we all appreciate that bank charges and lending rates continue to be of great public concern in our country. the issue at times seems to take an emotive stance with the public being “ pitted ” against the banks. at the central bank, we believe that this should not be the case and what we prefer to see is a healthy informed debate around this issue. it is with this in mind that the central bank has been at the forefront in measures aimed at enhancing market discipline through publication of charges and lending rates in the print media and the survey that we are launching today. i must underscore that the aim of this launch is not to “ name ” any bank as the cheapest or “ shame ” another as the most expensive. allow me to delve into the heart of the findings of the survey that are instructive in informing the way forward. first, the level of awareness of charges and lending rates amongst bank customers is generally low. second, related to this, the survey also established that the level of ” comparison shopping ” for banking services and products is also low. this alludes to an information asymmetry problem. information is indeed critical to the effective functioning of markets. it is not in doubt that when information on alternatives is readily available, the outcomes will be customer driven products and competitive price offerings. it therefore behoves the central bank and the players in the market to address this information