*  *  *  Thank you, The Banker Magazine; thank you, Mr Caplen, respected editor of The Banker; thank you, members of the panel for the generous acknowledgement of the Bank’s achievements during these most troubled and testing times in living memory.
The combination of globalisation and technological progress has also provided all companies, and not just multinationals, with a new potential pool of human capital from around the globe, such as low cost manufacturing workers from China, software and customer service professionals from India, or skilled workers from Eastern Europe.