FSB Publishes Update on Meeting of RCG for Sub-Saharan Africa

The key highlights of the meeting are as follows: 

• The RCG started with a discussion regarding the FSB work program and activities for 2019. The RCG members were updated on the FSB work to evaluate the effects of the post-crisis reforms, particularly work on an ongoing evaluation of the impact on financing of small and medium-size enterprises.
• The members then discussed the work of FSB that looks at examples of financial activities wherein supervisory practices and regulatory policies may give rise to market fragmentation. Members of the group discussed preliminary conclusions from the work, along with the issues that may be of relevance to the region.
• Members discussed ways to improve the effectiveness of the RCGs as part of the broader effort of FSB to enhance engagement with stakeholders. The discussion will feed into the ongoing work to consider ways in which jurisdictions that are not members of FSB can contribute to the direction of FSB’s work.
• Also considered were the issues and implementation challenges for developing countries that choose to implement the Basel framework. Members acknowledged the characteristics of the countries in the region which need to be carefully considered when designing the regulatory framework in these countries.
• The meeting concluded with a discussion on the use of cloud computing in the financial sector. While the adoption by regulated financial institutions appears to have been limited, anecdotal evidence suggests that this is changing. Members of the group discussed risks such as the sharing of sensitive data, the cross-border nature of service provision, and the concentration of cloud service providers as risks that supervisors need to consider. The RCG discussed regulatory frameworks for outsourcing to cloud service providers, including governance, risk management, and information security. 

The FSB RCG for Sub-Saharan Africa is co-chaired by Lesetja Kganyago, the Governor of SARB, and Moses Pelaelo, the Governor of Bank of Botswana. Membership includes financial authorities from Angola, Botswana, Ghana, Kenya, Mauritius, Namibia, Nigeria, South Africa, Tanzania, Uganda, and Zambia as well as the Central Bank of West African States (BCEAO) and the Bank of Central African States (BEAC). 

Related Link: Meeting Update

Keywords: Middle East and Africa, Sub-Saharan Africa, Banking, Insurance, Securities, RCG, International, Basel, Cloud Computing, SME, FSB