I am particularly delighted that this seminar will address the need to “match products to user needs”. This is indeed key to the success of any service oriented industry and therefore inevitable in meeting the needs of a growing economy such as ours. Without overemphasizing this point, I would like to implore you to ensure that you develop products suitable to your clients as a good and useful product is only one that meets the needs of the market. As I have already noted, on its part the Government is committed to resolving the various constraints identified in the country’s financial system through implemention of the FSDP and related initiatives. Key among the strategies includes the development of appropriate regulations and improving the capital adequacy base for the leasing and finance companies. Adequate capitalization of commercial banks and financial institutions is important if there is to be stability in the financial sector. It is for this reason that the Bank of Zambia, effective January 2007, increased the minimum paid-up capital for commercial banks from K2 billion to K12 billion. In the same vein, the start-up capital for the deposit taking leasing institutions was increased to K1.5 billion from K250 million. I wish to urge all leasing companies to make sure that they take steps to meet the required minimum capital. Let me conclude by paying tribute to the organisers of this seminar, Sapitwa Finance.
Closing remarks for the 13th edition of the Regional Seminar on Financial Stability Florin Georgescu, First Deputy Governor of the National Bank of Romania Bucharest, September 13, 2019 Distinguished Guests, Ladies and Gentlemen,   We have reached the end of the 13th edition of the Regional Seminar on Financial Stability and it is my pleasure to provide some closing remarks.  After two days of interesting presentations and intense debates, I will try to summarize some of the ideas presented here.  In this year’s edition of the Financial Stability Seminar, whose topics was “Inclusion and Financial Stability”, we have discussed about: o Financial inclusion and income inequality o Correlation between macroprudential policy and financial inclusion o Access to banking financing o Climate-related risks All these were discussed in the context of financial stability.  Some of the subjects, like macroprudential policy and its effects, were discussed in-depth these days, but also in the previous editions of the seminar. And that’s how it should be. This policy represents a key element in ensuring financial stability.  Macroprudential policy, according to ESRB recommendation, has ”the ultimate objective to contribute to the safeguard of the stability of the financial system as a whole, including by strengthening the resilience of the financial system and decreasing the build-up of systemic risks, thereby ensuring a sustainable contribution of the financial sector to economic growth”.