. that is, we need to take into account, while investing, first, the security of the reserves, second, their liquidity and, then, return. foreign exchange reserves are part of a country ’ s macroeconomic toolkit, and are considered a key indicator of the strength of the economy. so it is fundamental that we judiciously manage them for the benefit of the country. it is but natural for me to start by giving you an overall perspective on the role of the bank in the mauritian economy. of course, monetary policy formulation is a key function of the bank, but the public attention, at times, obscures the other important tasks that the bank undertakes. in this respect, i will brush on some major achievements during the year and point on how they have assisted in maintaining the stability and efficiency of the mauritian economy and financial system. we do not perform our work in isolation. we require the participation and contribution of various stakeholders in our decision - making process. 2018 has been quite an eventful year, as it coincided partly with our 50 th anniversary celebrations. i dare not dwell too much into our contributions to the economy over these 50 years, but you will appreciate that we are here to serve society and ensure that macroeconomic conditions are conducive to economic prosperity. we marked our golden jubilee ’ s existence with the opening of the bank of mauritius museum to the public. the museum displays over five hundred artefacts related to the history of our monetary system. we released the book “ from piastres to polymer ”, which provides for a comprehensively researched work on the history of banknotes of mauritius. i strongly recommend you and your family a visit to the museum and to own the book, which is available in the main libraries. 2 / 6 bis central bankers'speeches ladies and gentlemen, banknotes are part of a defining symbol of a country ’ s identity. we encourage our people to cherish and respect our banknotes and know their characteristics and features. on this count, the bank has issued a “ know our banknotes ” leaflet incorporating the security features of all banknotes currently in circulation. to address counterfeiting issues, we intensified media campaign on banknote security features and maximised public awareness on how to detect fake banknotes. we even brought over specialists from uk - based de la rue to conduct a two - day seminar on ‘ counterfeit detection ’ for our stakeholders, a first of its kind! in view of

leading the change : climate action in the financial sector speech given by sarah breeden, executive director, uk deposit takers supervision executive sponsor for climate change uk finance webinar held during london climate action week 1 july 2020 i am grateful to zane jamal and theresa lober for their assistance in drafting these remarks all speeches are available online at www. bankofengland. co. uk / news / speeches good afternoon everyone. i would like to thank uk finance for inviting me to speak today during london climate action week on what i consider to be the defining issue of our time – climate change. i realise that this may seem an odd claim for a central banker to make in the middle of a global pandemic that has already led to the largest fall in uk growth in over three hundred years. 1 but our economy and financial system, with the right support, should eventually recover from covid - 19. in contrast, climate change, left unchecked, will lead to irreversible harm for generations to come. that demands our continued attention even as we deal with the current crisis. we are at the start of a critical decade for climate action where the decisions we take today will shape the future of our planet for decades to come. ‘ action ’ being the key word. if the previous decade was marked by a ‘ call to action ’, then this coming decade must answer it. that means an economy - wide orderly transition to net - zero emissions. we all have a role to play in that. and the financial sector should be instrumental in driving that change. today i want to move us from aspiration to action, and set out how we can achieve this in practice - both at a micro - level, through the decisions each of you make as individual financial institutions, and at a macro - level, across the financial system as a whole. risks from climate change but first, a reminder of why climate change matters to you as financial institutions and to us as the central bank and supervisor. clearly, climate change matters for the environment and for our planet. but what has become self - evident now, even if it was not five years ago, is that climate change creates financial risks. 2 these can arise from physical risks, whether acute weather events like floods and wildfires, or longer - term climate trends like the rise in sea level and record - breaking temperatures in the arctic circle3. they can also arise from transition risks – the changes in government policy, technology and consumer preference