Toespraak van Prinses Máxima tijdens de overhandiging van de aanbevelingen en ‘key messages’ - die de VN-adviseursgroep voor een Toegankelijke Financiële Sector heeft opgesteld - aan de Secretaris-Generaal van de VN Ban Ki-moon
De toespraak is gehouden in het Engels.
Your Excellency, it is our great honor to be able to present to you the Key Messages and the Recommendations of the United Nations Advisors Group on Inclusive Financial Sectors.
We are immensely proud that we have been charged with such an important task -- not only because it is a privilege to be of service to you, the United Nations and its member states -- but because my fellow advisors and I are firmly convinced that inclusive finance is the fundamental platform from which individuals and nations can achieve equitable prosperity.
"Financial Inclusion for All" is a call to action that we must all embrace.
We must simply dedicate ourselves to prioritize the inclusion of the two billion people who are now systemically excluded from the most basic of financial services - like a secure bank account for their life's savings or simple insurance products that can help them buffer against life's risks, a credit to enhance their income and the possibility to make safe payments.
We call upon governments, regulators, development partners and the private sector to work collectively to make genuinely inclusive finance a reality.
Governments should promote "financial inclusion for all," by allowing citizens access to a broad range of financial products and services. Governments should embrace new technologies and delivery channels and create helpful policy environments -- by rejecting interest rate ceilings that limit credit expansion, and promoting consumer protection, transparent pricing, financial education, and open, competitive markets.
Regulators should establish conditions that allow a diverse range of institutions to provide financial services for all. Appropriate supervision is - of course - fundamental to the realization of inclusive finance and will ensure that risks are mitigated while access is still not limited. Regulators have a very important role to play.
Development partners - many of whom are with us today - are instrumental to thinking through the best way to support human and institutional capacity on the ground. The shortage of strong institutions and managers has been a key bottleneck to the delivery of financial services to the poor. But we can break through with the requisite attention and resources. Also, try to work with the private sector and think creatively about how to diversify services and institutions to maximize reach.
Finally, the private sector will play an important role in the long term. And we are not only talking about banks, but also about telecommunication providers, retailers etc. It is estimated that the unmet demand for financial services at the bottom of the pyramid could be as high as 250 billion dollars. And the way to get there is through a sustainable private sector, which brings not only capital -- but also much needed know-how and partnerships. We urge the private sector to take on this growing market opportunity with an enthusiasm tempered only by social responsibility.
Your Excellency, please accept our Key Messages and Recommendations for the use of the United Nations, its agencies and partners and its member states.
Thank you again for this opportunity to be of service.