MEFMI Trains Bank of Zambia Officials on Financial Stability

In its Phase VI Strategic Plan, the Institute has identified the attainment of financial stability in member countries as one of its overarching long-term objectives. The recent COVID-19 pandemic has also put economies and financial systems in the region under considerable strain threatening macroeconomic and financial stability. As such, the Institute continues to deliver capacity-building activities to support the financial stability goals of member countries given the highly uncertain environment. Against this background, MEFMI conducted an in-country workshop on Financial Stability for the Bank of Zambia (BoZ) from 25 – 29 July 2022. Financial stability is also one of the two areas of focus of the BOZ Strategic Plan for the period 2020 to 2023.

The workshop aimed to support the Bank’s efforts to mainstream and enhance the participants’ understanding of the foundational elements of financial stability and macroprudential policy in line with its strategic plan. The participants were drawn from departments that do not ordinarily deal with financial stability issues on a daily basis. It covered topics such as business and financial cycles, macro-financial linkages, systemic risks and systemically important institutions, macro stress testing, capital planning and macroprudential policy. Emerging topics such as the impact of cyber risks and the war in Ukraine on financial stability were also covered.

The workshop was held at the M’kango Golf View Hotel in Lusaka, Zambia. A total of sixteen (16) BoZ officials participated in the workshop. Seven (7) of the officials were female while the rest were male. The officials are expected to utilise the acquired knowledge to support the Bank’s strategic objective of attaining a stable financial system in Zambia.

A team of resource persons comprising Ms Florette Nakusera (Director, Financial Stability and Macroprudential Oversight at Bank of Namibia and Head of Namibia Deposit Guarantee Authority), Mr Ruzayi Chiviri (MEFMI Accredited Fellow and Deputy Director, Bank Supervision at Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe) and Mr Fredrick Shirima (MEFMI Graduate Fellow and Assistant Manager, Macroprudential Oversight at Bank of Tanzania) facilitated at the workshop.

By Noel Mahombera