Our current forecast – which is scheduled for review in June, September and December – is for Spanish GDP to grow by 2.8% over the course of 2015, and by 2.7% in 2016. As to employment, the March figures reinforce our view that the unemployment rate should continue to fall, down to around 20% of the labour force by the fourth quarter of 2016. In Europe, the figures appear to support the view that the risks of deflation have been averted and that the economies of the Monetary Union and of the European Union as a whole are recovering and gaining momentum. If the Spanish economy is to benefit from these changes and likewise enjoy sustained higher growth, it will be essential to persevere with the reforms geared to adding market flexibility and boosting investment. Admittedly, however, the European and international financial context is unprecedented. The US exit from quantitative easing, with the interest rate rises that the markets expect, and the proliferation of negative interest rates on various financial and government debt markets, make for an unprecedented scenario that poses undoubted risks to financial stability with potentially highly volatile movements in financial asset prices. But if the risk of deflation in the euro area has finally been averted, and the US economic recovery continues apace, we may expect the financial markets to return to normal and yield curves to move back in step with normal, sustained economic growth. 4  BIS central bankers’ speeches
Ladies and Gentlemen, in recognition of the need to provide a conducive regulatory environment which promotes sustainability, accountability and transparency in the conduct of micro finance business, the Bank of Zambia, in consultation with other key stakeholders in the microfinance sector, introduced the Banking and Financial Services (Microfinance Regulations) of 2006 which came into force on 31 January 2006. While the Regulations may be focusing on deposit taking microfinance institutions and relatively large non-deposit taking microfinance institutions, it is envisaged that several other smaller players in the industry will continue to be regulated under the Cooperative Societies Act and the Money Lenders Act. The Bank of Zambia will be holding a workshop for microfinance institutions and other stakeholders during the second half of 2006 to highlight the salient features of these Regulations and the importance of operating microfinance institutions to properly register their businesses. Ladies and Gentlemen, we are aware that lending of small sums of money to a large number of individuals maybe costly, and this may compel microfinance institutions to charge high lending interest rates than commercial banks and other financial institutions. However, it is also important to note that high lending interest rates can lead to high levels of delinquency. It is in this regard that the Bank of Zambia is concerned about the levels of lending interest rates charged by most financial institutions in Zambia, microfinance institutions included.