Microfinance Focus April 18, 2011: The Reserve Bank of Fiji recently hosted a three day training programme for regional central bankers in Suva on the supervision and regulation of non-bank microfinance institutions.

The training program was part of the regional work program of the Pacific Islands Central Bank Financial Inclusion Working Group and was jointly funded by the Alliance for Financial Inclusion, the Pacific Financial Inclusion Program and the International Finance Corporation.

An official of the Reserve Bank confirmed that the training would provide regional supervisors with sound conceptual understanding and practical tools for assessing and determining how best to regulate and supervise non-bank microfinance institutions.

He said, “These institutions include savings and loans societies, which are taking deposits from their members comprising predominantly low income and rural people. The training will look at the need to consider and regulate systemic and prudential risks, and designing appropriate techniques and methods for conducting onsite and offsite monitoring of these institutions.”

The supervision of microfinance institutions is a relatively new area for central banks in the Pacific and is seen as a priority reform in deepening the access of the unbanked to safe, relevant and affordable financial services.