Jarle Bergo: The economic outlook Address by Mr Jarle Bergo, Deputy Governor of Norges Bank (Central Bank of Norway), to invited foreign embassy representatives, Norges Bank, Oslo, 31 March 2005. The address is based on the assessments presented at Norges Bank’s press conference following the Executive Board’s monetary policy meeting on 16 March and on previous speeches. Please note that the text below may differ slightly from the actual presentation. The references and the Charts in pdf-format  can also be found on the website of the Norges Bank. *  *  *  Your Excellencies, ladies and gentlemen. First of all, I would like to thank you for taking the time to attend this event. It provides me with an opportunity to present Norges Bank’s view of the economic outlook. This year marks the centennial of the dissolution of the union between Norway and Sweden. Historically, an important part of nation-building has been the establishment of a monetary system and a central bank. In Norway, the stage was set for the introduction of a national currency in autumn 1814. With the prospect of a union with Sweden, a clause was included in the Constitution saying that Norway would maintain its own bank and its own monetary system. The monetary unit was the specie daler. In 1875, the Storting (Norwegian parliament) decided to join the currency union that Denmark and Sweden had established two years earlier. The specie daler was then replaced by the krone.
The formation of the VBI Community of Practitioners manifests the leadership by Islamic banks in this area with some of its members also being part of the Joint Committee on Climate Change (JCC) that was recently formed in September and chaired by the Bank and Securities Commission. The JCC aims to look at and create greater synergy in development of climate-related solutioning for the capital and financial markets. It should be noted that many VBI offerings of Islamic banks are already meeting contemporary sustainability themes but more will be forthcoming. Those already on offer include green and specialised financial products and services for retail and SME markets, financial solutions for lower income households, custom products for women entrepreneur and SMEs, green solutions that promote environmental sustainability and innovative solutions that promote physical and mental well-being. Takaful operators are also taking steps to explore value-based protection for their customers. A dedicated task force has been formed by the takaful industry to formulate a strategic roadmap to advance VBI in their business offerings and practices. VBI also encourages Islamic financial institutions to play a greater nurturing role in advocating sustainable practices among clients, such as adoption of Malaysian Sustainable Palm Oil Certification, as well as providing necessary funding and technical advisory services. Part of the progress in advancing VBI as a driver for positive change in the Islamic financial services industry has been the Bank’s role in working collaboratively with the VBI Community of Practitioners.