As part of its activities for 2011, the Africa Regional Committee (ARC) of the International Association of Deposit Insurers (IADI) has organized its Annual Conference on Financial Stability in Africa: Role of Deposit Insurance & Financial Inclusion at Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe.
 
The IADI conference, which was similar to the workshop recently hosted by the NDIC in Abuja was declared open by the IADI Secretary General, Mr. Carlos Isoard.  It among other issues:
     
 Enumerated the role of deposit insurance in the stability of the financial system;

 Discussed innovative ways of promoting financial inclusion and deposit insurance role in promoting financial/economic inclusion;

 Highlighted the role of banks in economic stability and growth;

 Discussed issues on deposit insurance and financial literacy; and

 Discussed various perspectives on Islamic Banking

A total of 20 papers were presented at the conference. From the proceedings, the main learning points were in the following areas:

 Expanding the scope of deposit insurance system (DIS) coverage in Nigeria to an integrated system, which will provide protection not only to depositors but also to consumers of other financial products such as insurance and capital market;

 Paying attention to pre-bank closure activities so as to provide the regulatory authorities the choice of the most appropriate failure resolution option that would facilitate prompt settlement of depositors’ claims; and

 Evolving innovative ways to enhance public awareness on the benefits and limitations of the deposit insurance system (DIS).

The three-day conference was attended by ARC member countries, including Nigeria, Kenya, Tanzania and Zimbabwe as well as other AIDI members from Malaysia, Taiwan, United States of America (USA), India, Switzerland and Germany.  The rest were countries within the Africa region aspiring to establish the deposit insurance system (DIS) including Lesotho, Mozambique and Zambia.  The Nigerian delegation was led by the Managing Director/CEO, Alh. Umaru Ibrahim while IADI Headquarters was represented by its Secretary General, Mr. Carlos Isoard.    

Rising from the Conference, members of the ARC, comprising Nigeria, Kenya, Tanzania and Zimbabwe held a meeting with the representatives of the Malaysian Deposit Insurance Corporation (MDIC), including its Chief Executive Officer, Mr. J. P. Sabourin.  The meeting, which was chaired by the NDIC’s CEO, agreed to collaborate in the areas of experience sharing and capacity building. 

Areas of focus for the capacity building through training programmes, which are to be organized in the first quarter of 2012 under the auspices of the ARC and MDIC, in the following areas:

 Target Funding

 Integrated Deposit Insurance System

 Resolving Systemically Important Financial Institutions (SIFIs)

 Non-Interest Deposit Insurance System (NIDIS)

 Prompt Depositor Reimbursement

 Risk Management for Deposit Insurance

 Corporate Governance, and

 Risk-Based Audit

H.  S.  BIRCHI
HEAD, COMMUNICATION & PUBLIC AFFAIRS