is intended to simply draw your attention to the ways and means employed by officers of financial institutions to defraud. ‘ there is perhaps no record of a bank fraud extant of which the perpetrator was not honest yesterday. ’ ( clapham, bank of england, vol. 2 ). never allow a bank officer to stay in a key position for too long a time. rotation of officers in fraud - prone areas of any bank ’ s operations is essential. bank officers should compulsorily go on vacation leave once a year. this is an elementary principle in the management of any financial institutions. the bank of mauritius receives numerous complaints from bank customers. may i say that there is much scope for improving the quality of services offered by several banks. unfair charges and fees on banking transactions, inadequate and often misleading information supplied to bank customers, rather than advising borrowers how to get out of a temporary setback in their businesses squeezing them to the point of bankruptcy are a few items in the long list of complaints that could bring the banks into bad disrepute. is it ethical to impose inordinately high charges and fees? i am sure you know the right answer. is it not ethical for banks to supply their customers with information about the charges and fees? all in all, the culture of any bank does matter. how much the staffs of banks appreciate the value that senior managements themselves attaches to what is good, right and fair in the conduct of the business they are in is of critical importance. good corporate governance is indeed the pacesetter for ethical behaviour in banks. as i said earlier the moral beliefs of an organisation shape the behaviour of its employees. several months back i had a working session with the board of directors of your bank wherein i outlined the various parameters set in the bank of mauritius guideline on corporate governance. i am pleased to note that your board of directors has initiated corrective actions. i urge your board of directors to carry the implementation of all the guidelines issued by the bank of mauritius through to the finish. your progress is being monitored. the bank of mauritius will carry out similar exercises with the boards of directors of other banks also in the near future. the bank of mauritius has, in the past few years, issued several guidelines to banks and other deposit taking institutions. i do not wish to go into the details of those guidelines here with you. i do not wish to be l ’ evangile de l ’ integrite

is doomed. at the workplace you always have to innovate, to move to new standards of perfection and to abide by new rules. you need the right attitude, the knowledge and skills to react in an optimal manner to situations that may come your way. you will some day leave the portals of the university of technology, mauritius, to start your career. from then on, you will be exposed to a very different world from what you may have known within the boundaries of university education : a world of fierce competition, filled with all types of risks. my advice is to let yourselves be guided by the very basic principles of social and professional lives – self - respect and honesty. apart from the good educational background you may have acquired, you will continue building self - respect by persevering to learn and innovate throughout your career. if you wish to succeed, make perseverance your bosom friend. this is a character that will make a difference. i enjoin a quote from george bernard shaw “ i am not a teacher, only a fellow traveller of whom you asked the way. i pointed ahead - ahead of myself as well as of you ”. persevere and invent your own future. i wish you the very best of success. the bank of mauritius is ready to support this kind of initiative aiming at creating awareness of what is happening in the financial sector, especially the banking sector. i believe that the central bank can play an important role and be a bridge between the financial sector and your newly born society. i direct you to the website of the bank of mauritius where you will be exposed to loads of information on the financial industry and the way it is regulated and supervised. thank you.