Prasarn Trairatvorakul: Economic transformation and inclusive growth in frontier economies Welcome and opening remarks by Dr Prasarn Trairatvorakul, Governor of the Bank of Thailand, at the conference on “Economic transformation and inclusive growth in frontier economies”, jointly organized by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), Bangkok, 28 January 2013. *  *  *  Ministers and Central Bank Governors, Distinguished guests, Ladies and Gentlemen, 1. It gives me great pleasure and honor to welcome each and every one of you to Thailand, and more specifically, to the Conference on “Economic Transformation and Inclusive Growth in Frontier Economies”. This event is the second in a series of conference jointly organized by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA). 2. The topic of the conference is timely and relevant to current developments in the region. Frontier economies are new and becoming large markets. They all have the potential to grow into tomorrow’s emerging economies. In recent years, we witness faster economic growth in frontier economies than larger emerging economies. We have seen frontier economies integrate into the regional and global economy. 3. Frontier economies are full of potential. However, continued efforts on strengthening policy frameworks are still needed. This is to ensure long term economic growth and sustain robust economy. And I believe that today’s conference will contribute to these efforts as we will share and learn the appropriate lessons of others. One can leap jump the process, without repeating the mistakes.
Pablo Hernández de Cos: Remittance flows and their effects on Latin American macroeconomic and financial stability during the COVID-19 crisis Introductory remarks by Mr Pablo Hernández de Cos, Governor of the Bank of Spain and Chair of the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision, to the virtual seminar on “Remittance flows and their effects on Latin American macroeconomic and financial stability during the COVID-19 crisis”, organized by the Fondo Latinoamericano de Reservas (FLAR) and the Bank of Spain, webinar, 27 July 2021. * * * Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen. Let me first thank FLAR (the Latin American Reserve Fund) and its president, José Darío Uribe, for the opportunity of jointly organising this webinar with the Banco de España. It will be the first of many and marks the start of close collaboration between both institutions, formalised in a memorandum of understanding in December 2020. The close economic and financial ties between Latin America and Spain are widely known. The interest of the Banco de España in the region has grown, as you know, owing to the internationalisation of Spanish banks since the early 1990s, largely directed towards Latin America. In this process, the region has taken on great significance for the Spanish banking system. Indeed, Spanish banks’ exposures to Latin America account, on pre-pandemic data, for almost one-fifth of the system’s total exposures, and for almost 30% of exposures outside Spain.