MEFMI Conducts Workshop on Macroprudential Supervision

The stability of the financial system is largely dependent on the evolving interlinkages between the financial system and the real economy. To avert financial crises, the interconnectedness requires authorities to adopt a macroprudential approach focusing on the build-up of vulnerabilities and systemic risks within the financial system as a whole. The COVID-19 pandemic, which had a severe impact on the global financial system, served as a reminder to authorities of the need to put in place measures to strengthen the resilience of not only individual financial institutions but the entire system. Authorities also need to pay attention to emerging cyber and climate-related risks which may pose serious threats to global financial stability in the near future, if left unchecked.

Against this background, MEFMI conducted a regional workshop on macroprudential supervision titled Implementing Macroprudential Frameworks: Issues and Challenges, from 25 to 29 April 2022. The objectives of the workshop were to improve the participants’ understanding of macroprudential tools and approaches as well as to provide a platform to discuss the different challenges and issues faced by MEFMI member countries in implementing macroprudential supervision. Officiating at the official opening ceremony of the workshop on behalf of the MEFMI Executive Director, Mr Patrick Mutimba, the Director, Financial Sector Management Programme at MEFMI stressed the importance of implementing appropriate macroprudential policies in maintaining financial stability.

The workshop covered topics such as macroprudential policies, macro-financial interlinkages, identifying and tracking systemic risks, and implementing counter-cyclical buffers and frameworks for systemically important financial institutions.  In line with the growing systemic importance of cyber and climate risks, the workshop contained respective sessions on how financial innovation and climate change affect financial stability. The participants are expected to utilise the knowledge acquired from the workshop to support the implementation of appropriate macroprudential frameworks in their respective jurisdictions.

A total of 56 officials from eleven (11) MEFMI member countries (namely, Angola, Botswana, Eswatini, Kenya, Lesotho, Mozambique, Namibia, Rwanda, Tanzania, Uganda and Zimbabwe) participated in the workshop. In terms of gender distribution, 24 or 43% of the participants were female while the remaining 32 or 57% were male.

Three (3) resource persons namely Ms Justine Bagyenda and Mr Amarendra Mohan, both independent consultants as well as Mr Fredrick Shirima, a Graduate Fellow from the Bank of Tanzania, facilitated at the workshop.  The resource persons were supported by Mr Noel Mahombera and Mr Patrick Mutimba from the MEFMI Secretariat.

By Noel Mahombera