The continental policy workshop on The African Approach to the Implementation of International Standards for Banking Supervision and the Basle Capital Framework was successfully held on 28-29 April 2011 in Kampala, Uganda. The meeting which was organized in collaboration with the Association of African Central Banks (AACB) and hosted by Bank of Uganda (BoU) brought together regulators and supervisors from 25 African central banks (and representatives of the African Development Bank, the German Ministry of Economic Development and Cooperation (BMZ), the International Monetary Fund, the World Bank and the Secretariat of the Financial Stability Board (FSB) to discuss the relevance of international standards in the regional context and build an African consensus around reform priorities.
The participants acknowledged that the workshop is held at a critical time since central banks in Africa are currently evaluating the lessons of the recent global financial crisis and the policy measures proposed at the international level to bolster banking supervision and strengthen the resilience of banks. Moreover, not all of the regulatory reforms being discussed internationally are of equal importance in the African context as the supervisory capacity, the structure of financial markets and the specific risks to financial stability are different. While African financial systems are evolving rapidly important regulatory and supervisory gaps remain.
The participants welcomed the proposal to establish a "Community of African Banking Supervisors" under the joint AACB/MFW4A framework that shall become a platform for reflecting on relevant global discussions and help in voicing the concerns of the continent. African central banks also noted the readiness of development partners to support the implementation of international standards and the development of a diagnostic framework to define priorities and roadmaps for reforms at country level.
Finally, the Secretariats of MFW4A and AACB were tasked to elaborate an Action Plan that shall be submitted to the AACB Assembly of Governors meeting on August, 2011 in Malawi.
We are pleased to share with you the attached Kampala Communiqué and the Group picture and thank MFW4A Partners for their support in organizing this policy workshop. The Secretariat intends to organize follow up discussions with its Partners to discuss the different action points and possible support to this reform agenda. In the meantime, we would appreciate your feedback on this Communiqué.
