Officials trained on Bank supervision and crisis management

The novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic has caused huge economic and financial crisis characterised by significant uncertainties. The pandemic has worsened the vulnerabilities of the financial sector and presents unprecedented challenges for bank supervisors in the MEFMI region.

Although policy support such as the utilisation of liquidity buffers have been put in place, there is high likelihood that supervisory authorities in the region will have to deal with high numbers of troubled institutions. There is also a risk that rising non-performing loans will trigger widespread distress among financial institutions. These developments require effective policy and regulatory responses to preserve financial stability.

As part of its efforts to support member countries in dealing with current challenges, MEFMI offered an e-Learning course on bank supervision and crisis management from 13 May to 25 June 2021. The course provided an overview of the conceptual and operational issues in bank supervision, crisis management and bank resolution. It also covered elements of micro and macroprudential supervision, such as the Basel core principles, stress testing, and bank resolution. The course also equipped participants with key knowledge and skills to help them maintain rigorous supervisory oversight during the COVID-19 crisis.

A total of 50 bank examiners and supervisors from ten (10) MEFMI member countries (i.e. Angola, Botswana, Eswatini, Lesotho, Malawi, Mozambique, Rwanda, Tanzania, Zambia and Zimbabwe) participated in the course. The course enhanced the participants’ knowledge of the core principles for effective bank supervision and macro-prudential supervision, stress testing and bank resolution. The participants are expected to use the acquired knowledge to improve bank supervision, crisis management and resolution practices at their respective institutions in response to the challenges posed by the COVID-19 environment. MEFMI will continue to support member countries’ efforts to implement sound supervision practices and entrench financial stability in member countries.

MEFMI Fellows, Ms Lyness Phiri-Mambo from Bank of Zambia and Mr Fredrick Shirima from Bank of Tanzania facilitated the course.

Prepared by Noel Mahombera