rundheersing bheenick : looking beyond vision 2020 address by mr rundheersing bheenick, governor of the bank of mauritius, at the annual dinner in honour of economic operators, pailles, 6 december 2013. * * * “ without … extra resources, the only omo ’ s that your central bank will be able to undertake will be, not open market operations, but open mouth operations – with no money to put where our mouth is! ” 1. before we begin may i ask you all to rise to pay our respects and tribute to that great leader in this region, nelson mandela, who passed away last night and whose character and example in his long walk to freedom have inspired so many in africa and the world. nelson mandela, madiba, thank you! now let me welcome you all here tonight. for i want to bring some cheer to a year marked, once again, by the dismal lingering legacy of the global financial crisis. tonight, i want us to raise our vision from the immediate past, beyond the immediate horizon, and even beyond vision 2020, to a longer - term perspective for the country and for its people. global revenge on the banksters abroad 2. for banksters abroad, it has been a year of retribution, regulatory condemnation, and multi - billion - dollar penalties : their just deserts! but here, in mauritius, it has been different. we have suffered no contagion from questionable practices and misdemeanors which had become common currency in the top echelons of global banking and finance. by judicious regulation, by innovative intervention, by much prudent action by our banks themselves − and also, i must say, by a fair bit of luck − we have managed to avoid the calamitous plight of so many hard - hit countries in the world. 3. the economist, examining some of the worst excesses of casino banking abroad, has declared that to politicians – not with us tonight – “ banks are both incompetent behemoths waiting for public bailouts and conniving profiteers, pulling a fast one on their customers ” 1 the economist might think that … but i could not possibly say so … could i? as we well know, our banks, here, are not too - big - to - fail, and are engagingly customer - friendly, most of the time. and they had better be, as i am pleased to see that the competition

v leeladhar : taking banking services to the common man - financial inclusion commemorative lecture by mr v leeladhar, deputy governor of the reserve bank of india, at the fedbank hormis memorial foundation, ernakulam, 2 december 2005. * * * ladies and gentlemen, i am truly honoured to deliver the fedbank hormis memorial foundation commemorative lecture. the illustrious list of the previous years ’ speakers indicates the kind of significance this commemorative lecture has acquired over the years. the late shri k. p. hormis, founder of federal bank, was a visionary and left behind an institutional set up in the form of federal bank which has been doing yeoman service for well over seventy five years. the fedbank hormis memorial foundation, a public charitable trust, has been furthering the cause of banking and finance by providing knowledge and training in the areas of banking, finance, economics and management to banking professionals as well as deserving students who are specializing in these areas. as the life and times of late shri k. p. hormis were spent largely in taking banking to the masses, which is indicated by federal bank ’ s mix of urban and rural coverage, i thought it would be appropriate for me to speak on taking banking services to the common man – financial inclusion, a topic of contemporary significance and relevance. the banking industry has shown tremendous growth in volume and complexity during the last few decades. despite making significant improvements in all the areas relating to financial viability, profitability and competitiveness, there are concerns that banks have not been able to include vast segment of the population, especially the underprivileged sections of the society, into the fold of basic banking services. internationally also efforts are being made to study the causes of financial exclusion and designing strategies to ensure financial inclusion of the poor and disadvantaged. the reasons may vary from country to country and hence the strategy could also vary but all out efforts are being made as financial inclusion can truly lift the financial condition and standards of life of the poor and the disadvantaged. what is financial inclusion? • financial inclusion is delivery of banking services at an affordable cost to the vast sections of disadvantaged and low income groups. unrestrained access to public goods and services is the sine qua non of an open and efficient society. as banking services are in the nature of public good, it is essential that availability of banking and payment services to the entire population without discrimination is the prime objective of the public policy. the scope