During the same period, the Electronic Transactions Act and the Payment Devices Frauds Act have been passed by the Government to authorize electronic transactions and to penalize fraudulent activities relating to card operations. These laws are intended to provide an enabling regulatory framework for banks and financial institutions to use IT facilities for their operations and mitigate risks that could arise from the abuse of systems and instruments. 7. Product-centered IT development and limited customer benefits  7.1 IT developments in the Banks have positively impacted their customers, but regrettably in a limited way. For example, although the RTGS system intended to facilitate third party customer transactions, many have not been able to use the system for speedy settlements. The RTGS and SSS systems were entirely funded by the Central Bank through grants made available by the Ministry of Finance. While banks in Sri Lanka enjoy these highly subsidized clearing and settlement facilities with enormous benefits, very little effort has been made to offer part of the benefits to their customers. Until recently, some banks charged their customers more than three times the charge the Central Bank levy on banks for RTGS transactions. Moreover, customers are not even encouraged to use the system due to rigid time lines imposed on third party transactions. 7.2 In the case of retail transactions too, the benefits are not always passed on to the customers.
3/18  On the latest Banco de España macroeconomic projections released on 20 March, the current upturn is forecast to continue over the coming years. These economic projections are expected to be underpinned by the continuation of the factors that have sustained growth since the start of the recovery. These include, in particular, the gains in competitiveness achieved since the onset of the crisis, the strengthening of the financial situation of firms, households and financial institutions, and the accommodative monetary policy stance. And we should add, in the short term, the prolongation of the expansionary stance of budgetary policy. This combination of factors would enable the economy to continue growing at a pace greater than its potential rate, which would support the absorption of the high unemployment generated during the crisis. Among these factors I would like to stress the role played by competitive gains and the improved financial position of households and firms. Both have helped make the Spanish economy more resilient. Indeed, throughout the recovery, thanks to cumulative gains in competitiveness, the positive developments in our export markets were conducive to the internationalisation of Spanish companies. That in turn boosted business investment and employment and, through this latter variable, consumption. As a result, the Spanish economy has managed recurrently to post external surpluses during the upturn, which was somewhat unusual in previous recoveries.