DUSHANBE (TCA) — A workshop on corporate governance practices for the shareholders, board members, and management of financial institutions was launched last week in Dushanbe by Jamoliddin Nuraliev, the First Deputy Chairman of the National Bank of Tajikistan (NBT) and Jan-Peter Olters, Country Manager for the World Bank in Tajikistan.
“The quality of corporate governance in the financial sector is largely synonymous with any definition of ‘health’ of the system and its ability to absorb economic, technological, and other shocks,” said Jan-Peter Olters. “The combination of confidence, soundness, and the effective of the Board on the oversight over risk management defines the impact on economic development and growth. There is no sustainably growing economy without sound banks”.
A recently launched Strengthening the Financial Sector Program financed by the Swiss State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO) supports the NBT in implementing key recommendations of the 2015 Financial Sector Assessment Program (FSAP), in efforts to strengthen financial sector soundness, minimize fiscal risks, promote investment, foster private-sector growth, and ensure financial inclusion. As part of the program’s technical advisory services, corporate governance in banks and micro-finance institutions will be improved through policy work, training programs, in-depth corporate assessment of select financial institutions and corporate governance manual development. These efforts help Tajikistan’s transition towards a stable and resilient financial system.
The workshop had over 150 representatives from banks and microfinance institutions in Dushanbe and Khujand and focused on issues around the importance of corporate governance for financial institutions and the role of supervisory boards and corporate secretaries in increasing the shareholders and organization value. It built on experiences made and lessons learnt since 2007, when the World Bank Group—through IFC’s Corporate Governance Project in Central Asia—started supporting Tajikistan in raising awareness, assisting companies in strengthening corporate governance, and developing a regulatory framework.
