micro, small and medium sized enterprises. at this point, we have allowed banks to exceed their credit ceiling by over $ 185 million. as you know, the credit ceiling only applies to commercial banks. earlier in the year, we had discussed with the credit institutions like ccfl the possibility of imposing a similar credit ceiling on them if the need arose. credit growth of credit institutions has also slowed considerably and the need for a credit ceiling has largely dissipated. in modernising fiji ’ s financial system, we were very pleased to launch fiji ’ s real time automated payments system or fijiclear on 16 october. fiji is the first country in the south pacific to have such a state of the art payments system. fijiclear will improve efficiency in making and receiving payments as well as help safeguard financial stability. payments using fijiclear will deliver funds the same day compared with 3 to 6 days required to clear cheques. i take this opportunity to encourage you to use fijiclear for speed, certainty, reliability and convenience. i would like to thank ross and the finance companies association for their support and guidance as we embarked on this project. the fiji economy let me say a few words about the economy. an economic contraction is expected for 2007. in 2008, a mild economic recovery of 2 percent is expected led mainly by the tourism industry contributing to growth in the wholesale & retail trade and hotels & restaurants and transport & communication sectors. based on latest information, we expect better outcomes for the agriculture, forestry and fishing and manufacturing sectors. with the reopening of the vatukoula gold mine, we expect a positive contribution to the mining and quarrying sector. we have revised these economic figures. the new economic projections will be announced on budget day this friday. fiji ’ s balance of payments still remains a concern due to the poor performance of our traditional exports. the increase in oil prices will only further widen fiji ’ s trade deficit. the policies towards dampening import demand seem to be effective. but we must work together to grow our exports. at the bank, we recently announced changes to the export finance facility which will assist the export sector access credit at a relatively low interest rate. we have also removed the local content requirement. we hope that these changes will make the facility more attractive to the commercial banks and exporters. with the recent stability in the level of our foreign reserves, we have relaxed the limits on payment for credit cards for expenditure abroad, cash drawings and delegated limits on import payments

sada reddy : financial literacy for all speech by mr sada reddy, governor of the reserve bank of fiji, at the launch of the 2010 green ribbon campaign, suva, 19 august 2010. * * * chairman and members of the financial literacy working group, distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen. introductory remarks a very warm welcome to you all. i am delighted to be here today to officially launch the green ribbon campaign, a partnership of the public, private sector and non government agencies to raise awareness and promote financial literacy for all. today marks the beginning of a week of awareness on the benefits and need to promote financial literacy for all. financial literacy, ladies and gentlemen, has been recognized as an important skill that helps individuals to participate in a modern economy, as it enables one to confidently manage and make informed decisions relating to their personal finances. financial literacy is an empowering skill that is needed throughout life, from childhood through to retirement. where ever people are, whether they live in an urban or rural area, they will be faced with different types of financial decisions throughout their lives – whether it ’ s balancing their income with day to day living expenses, managing borrowings for major purchases such as a house or planning ahead to meet needs or unforeseen risks. it is therefore not at all surprising to learn, that so many countries have put into place strategic policies, to ensure that financial literacy is available to all citizens. here in the pacific the importance of financial literacy has been recognized at the regional level by pacific education ministers and finance ministers in 2009. at their october meeting, finance and economic ministers agreed that each pacific island nation, through combined actions of the public and private sectors, achieve the following goals by 2020 : all children to receive financial education through core curricula ; all adults to have access to financial education ; simple and transparent consumer protection to be in place ; and halve the number of households without access to basic financial services. what has been done to promote financial literacy in fiji? i am very happy to say the reserve bank has taken on a lead role in this area. we have taken a different approach in that the reserve bank has taken the initiative to support government in setting up the financial literacy working group comprising private, public sector and non government agencies working with the national financial inclusion taskforce ( nfit ). nfit was established in february this year to promote greater financial inclusion in fiji. this green ribbon campaign being launched today is the initiative of the financial literacy