International Monetary Fund (IMF) statistical experts are working with officials of the Bank of Botswana (BOB) and of the Nonbank Financial Regulatory Agency (NBFIRA) to improve the breadth and quality of data collected from the financial industry.

International Monetary Fund (IMF) statistical experts are working with officials of the Bank of Botswana (BOB) and of the Nonbank Financial Regulatory Agency (NBFIRA) to improve the breadth and quality of data collected from the financial industry. The cooperative effort is part of an ongoing IMF technical assistance program and responds to calls by international groups, including the G-20, for improved data standards worldwide to support more robust macroeconomic and financial surveillance in the light of the global financial crisis.

A team of IMF statistical experts visited Botswana in February to work with their counterparts at the Research Department at BOB and NBFIRA. The BOB, as the country’s central bank, has direct supervisory responsibilities over the financial system including direct oversight over the banks and for Botswana’s financial stability. The NBFIRA was established in 2008 as the national regulator for nonbank financial institutions in fields such as insurance, pensions, unit trusts and stock market operations. The team’s work focused on the surveys which are used to collect data from financial corporations operating in Botswana. The information will allow an expansion of financial statistics coverage beyond the banking sector to facilitate policy making and inform the market in light of the growth of the nonbank financial sector, whose total assets are now larger than those of the banking sector.

“Reliable and comprehensive data on the developing financial sector is essential for implementing appropriate regulatory policy We welcome the input from the IMF statistical experts and trust that practitioners will respond to our requests for data for the good of the sector as whole,” said Ms.Linah Mohohlo, Governor of the Bank of Botswana.

As part of its mission to promote international monetary cooperation, balanced growth and poverty reduction, the IMF works with its 186 member states around the world to improve the quality and dissemination of a broad range of statistical data in order to assist policy-makers at both national and international levels. The IMF is working with Botswana to facilitate subscription to the Special Data Dissemination Standard (SDDS).