Although the sector has shed jobs over the past two years, it remains an important and valuable component of the local economy. There are also numerous corporate headquarters in the county and a notable manufacturing presence, particularly in the pharmaceuticals, electrical equipment and aerospace industries. In addition, the whole tri-state region has benefited from its proximity to New York City, where the rebound in the economy – and also in employment – has been much stronger. Fairfield County’s connection to New York City is not quite as strong as Long Island’s or the lower Hudson Valley: About 7 percent of working residents in the county commute to New York City compared to about 20 percent in those areas. Still, the city’s strong pace of job creation during the current recovery is supporting incomes in the county. Turning to the recent performance of the economy, this area is growing pretty much in line with the nation, at least in terms of employment. That’s a bit of an improvement from 2012 when, after solid gains in 2010 and 2011, job creation in both Fairfield County and Connecticut had stalled. Some sectors, such as education, health, and professional and business services were adding jobs; but those were offset by job losses not only in finance, but also in the goods-producing and distributing sectors. And at the end of October, Superstorm Sandy hit the region, causing major damage and disruption.
I am reliably informed that the number of branches has increased from 17 at the beginning of April last year to 55 at the end of November 2007. What is even more impressive is that these branches are found in areas which were previously not serviced by commercial banks. This indeed is a bold move and for this we must commend Barclays Bank Zambia. I am aware that the expansion programme is backed by a capital injection of approximately K40.0 billion which will make it possible for Barclays Bank Zambia to increase its services in the country, particularly to the SMEs sector. Ladies and Gentlemen, the 2005 Finscope Survey undertaken by FinMark Trust confirmed that levels of access to financial services in Zambia are low. Fewer than 15% of adult Zambians are reported to have had access to commercial banks. The reasons given for this low accessibility varied but some of the critical reasons included the distance to banks, the time spent getting to a bank and the cost of getting a bank service. With Barclays Bank Zambia opening branches closer to the people it is our conviction that the number of Zambians to have access to banking services will increase. We therefore encourage as many Zambians as possible to use these facilities. To the residents of Chilenje, I urge you to utilize the services offered by Barclays Bank, otherwise the bank may opt to close its branch due to lack of business and you will be left with no bank in your area.