To meet the financial needs of customers, the Group and the Bank enter into various irrevocable commitments and contingent liabilities. Even though the obligations may not be recognised on the statements of financial position they do contain credit risk and are therefore part of the overall risk of the Group and the Bank.

Refer to note 37 for disclosure on allowance for impairment losses.

Financial guarantees and letters of credit (including standby letters of credit) commit the Group and the Bank to make payments on behalf of customers in the event of a specific act, generally related to the import or export of goods

Commitments to extend credit represent contractual commitments to make loans and revolving credits. Commitments generally have fixed expiry dates, or other termination clauses. Since commitments may expire without being drawn upon, the total contract amounts do not necessarily represent future cash requirements.

However, the potential credit loss is less than the total unused commitments since most commitments to extend credit are contingent upon customers maintaining specific standards. The Group and the Bank monitor the term to maturity of credit commitments because longer-term commitments generally have a greater degree of credit risk than shorter-term commitments.

Authorised by the Board of Directors for the next 12 months but contracted for: Commitments for the acquisition of plant and equipment and intangible assets of MUR 125m

The Group and the Bank have entered into commercial leases on premises and vehicles. These leases have an average life that ranges between three and five years with no renewal option included in the contract. There are no restrictions placed upon the lessee by entering the leases.

Future minimum lease payments under the non-cancellable operating leases at 30 June 2019 are as follows: