First, the authorities must become better at gathering and analysing information about conditions in the financial sector and the rest of the world in order to be able to better assess the risks of future crises in the financial system. One of the problems has been that the risks have developed during periods when the financial sector has appeared to be in excellent health, at least on the surface. This points to the importance of two things: We need a more transparent financial sector and we need ongoing research and development work to produce indicators that are better at revealing that systemic risks are developing, as well as other types of analytical tools. However, this is not only about discovering and understanding the risks, it is also about counteracting the development of the risks in a more concrete way. This is why we also need effective corrective tools that enable the authorities to better influence risk behaviour in the financial sector and thus reduce the risk of crises in the future. This includes, for instance, finding ways to ensure that the assessments of the authorities have a sufficient impact on the risk behaviour of the financial players. Apart from effective communication, we also need to think about whether we have the "teeth" needed to put sufficient pressure on the players to make them change their behaviour. For example, the possibility to im-pose an extra capital adequacy requirement on particularly large and complex (and therefore systemically-important) banks has been discussed.
Denny H Kalyalya: Zambian financial sector – responding to the needs of business Speech by Dr Denny H Kalyalya, Deputy Governor-Operations of the Bank of Zambia; at the opening of Standard Chartered Bank Zambia Solwezi Branch, Solwezi, 10 December 2008. *  *  *  The Minister of Commerce, Trade and Industry, Hon. Felix Mutati The Minister, North-Western Province, Hon. Joseph Mulyata The Chairman of the Board of Standard Chartered Bank Zambia, Mr. George Sokota His Worship the mayor of Solwezi The Managing Director of Standard Chartered Bank, Mrs. Mizinga Melu Distinguished guests Members of the press Ladies and Gentlemen I am pleased to be here at the official opening of the new Solwezi Branch of Standard Chartered Bank Zambia Limited. Ladies and Gentlemen, recent times have shown a proliferation of commercial bank branches in areas which had previously been considered unattractive for business. Rural areas had even experienced closures where banks felt that they were unable to establish a case for business. The economic environment that the Government created through the reforms instituted in the early 1990’s has given new confidence to investors and has provided an opportunity for businesses to grow, thereby attracting banks to the areas which were deprived of basic financial services. The opening of this branch today, in a town which has attracted major investments, is a demonstration that the financial sector is indeed, now responding to the needs of business.