This preferential treatment therefore needs to be brought to an end over a medium to long-term horizon. The financial crisis swept away any lingering doubts that the close financial ties between banks and sovereigns can pose a threat to financial stability. This is another area, then, in which we should not create any misguided incentives to take on excessive risk.
As you are aware I re-joined the Bank as Governor again after a long break of eight years which I spent mostly overseas. Having seen the human resource landscape in Mauritius after so many years and the quality of human capital relative to the exigencies of the day, I should express my appreciation to the Association for having chosen this topic.