Dakar, February 23, Summary Report and Decisions

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1 A550ClATION DB BANQUE5 (ENTRAlE5 AFRICAINE5 œ r :\1"'oflf'"""r4. $' '..t.,. A550ClATION OF AFRICAI{ (ENTMl BA.NK5 "",, '>, ".,.., # Le Président The Chairperson ASSOCIATION OF AFRICAN CENTRAL BANKS (AACB) BUREAU MEETING Dakar, February 23, 2007 Summary Report and Decisions \ )

2 c The Bureau of the Association of African Central Banks (MCB) held its Ordinary Meeting on Friday, February 23, 2007 at the Headquarters of the Banque Centrale des Etats de l'afrique de l'ouest (BCEAO), in Dakar, Senegal. Ail the members of the Bureau attended the meeting, which was chaired by Mr. Tom K. Alweendo, Governor of Bank of Namibia and current Chairperson of the Association. Having considered the Agenda items, the Bureau: 1. Adopted the Summary Report of the MCB 2006 Symposium, held on August 17, 2006 in Windhoek, Namibia. 2. Adopted the Report of the 30th Ordinary Meeting of the Assembly of Governors, which took place on August 18, 2006 in Windhoek, Namibia. 3. Took note of the African Union (AU) strategy for the establishment of pan- African financial institutions as provided by Article 19 of the Constitutive Act of the AU. The AU outlined three possible roles that the MCB could play in the establishment of the African Central Bank, namely: being part of the T echnical Steering Committee (TSCs), advisor to the AU and TSCs, or be a specialised technical group. Governors stressed the need for the MCB to participate and consulted accordingly in the implementation and establishment of the African Central Bank. ln this regard, the AU was requested to outline the specific role of the Association. 4. Took note of progress reports made by the MCB Sub-Regions on the implementation of the African Monetary Co-operation Programme (AMCP) in ln this regard, Governors decided that in order to have more accu rate and comprehensive economic data, future reports should be submitted to the Bureau's consideration, at its ordinary meeting, preceding that of the Assembly of Governors. ln addition, for information sharing with the AU on progress being made in the implementation of the AMCP, the Bureau requested the MCB Secretariat to officially send a copy of the consolidated report of the Sub-Regions reports to the AU Commission as soon as it becomes available. 5. For the dissemination of the 2005 report on the AMCP, the Bureau requested the Secretariat to have pamphlets printed in English and French, within available budgetary resources and to make them available to member Central Banks, the African Union and the Association's partners. Similarly, the MCB Sub-regional Committees were requested to put the report at the disposai of economic and financial institutions as weil as Non Governmental Organisations operating in their respective Sub-Regions. 6. For the promotion of African banking networks as weil as regional and continental stock exchanges as required by stage Il of the AMCP, the Secretariat was requested by the Bureau to submit for its consideration at its next ordinary meeting, terms of reference on the feasibility of an officiai yearbook on African Banks and sub-regional and continental stocks exchanges. 2

3 7. On the proposed recommendations to include some indicators in the AMCP following the revision of conclusions and recommendations of the seminar on the harmonisation of concepts, methodologies and statistical frameworks, the Bureau decided as follows: a) Debt 1 GDP ratio: Given the importance of this ratio in the assessment of the sustainability of countries indebtedness, this ratio should be observed by ail the MCB Sub-Regions as one of the criterion of their regional monetary integration programmes. b) Inflation rate: ln the context of the AMCP, the headline inflation should be used to assess the level of inflation. c) Public finance aggregates: The Bureau recommended that public finance statistics aggregates (revenue, expenditure, lending minus repayment, financing) should reflect consolidated transactions of general government, before ln this regard, public finance statistics aggregates should be compiled by national authorities according to the requirements of the 2001 GFS Manual of the IMF. d) Index of the Real Effective Exchange Rates: ln the process of establishing an exchange rate mechanism as recommended by stage IV ( ) of AMCP, member Central Banks should compile, in addition to RER, the REER for African national currencies in proportion to the international currency(ies) the Association's Assembly of Governors would have selected. e) Positive real interest rates: The Bureau agreed that additional research be conducted by concerned member Central Banks on how to assess accurately the maintenance of positive real interest rates in the context of the AMCP implementation. 8. Oecided that the setting up of the Group of Central Banks Experts on Payments Systems is not opportune at the present, as work on payment systems should be done first at the national and regional levels. However, Governors were unanimous that the Association shall share information and exchange views on issues of payments systems in Africa and in the rest of the world during the Association's annual meetings. For this purpose, Subregional chairs and/or experts from each region will be requested to present information on progress being made in their regions in the areas of payment systems at the Annual Assembly of Governors. 9. Selected the theme "Strengthening ban king supervision in Africa: cooperation and experience sharing among supervisors" for the MCB 2007 continental seminar. The seminar will be hosted by the Banque d'algérie on April 24-25, 2007 at the Centre d'etudes Bancaires in Aigiers. 3

4 10. Examined the theme of the MCB Symposium for "Microfinance, Savings and Credit Unions in Po vert y Alleviation" - and approved the following sub-themes:. Sub-theme 1: Instftutional Framework and Operations of Microfinance Institutions and Credit Unions;. Sub-theme 2: Economic and Social Impact of Microfinance Institutions and Credit Unions;. Sub-theme 3: Future Developments of Microfinance Institutions and Credit Unions. 11. Considered the review report on the MCB symposia. ln this regard, the Bureau agreed that the MCB annual symposia remain relevant as ever as they serve as an important platform for the exchange of views and information on key policy issues in Central Banking. Hence, the Bureau agreed that the symposia should continue to be held on annual basis and ail Governors to be encouraged to participate. ln the near future, the Association should associate universities and/or research Centres to MCB symposiums. 12. Noted the status of Member Central Banks contributions to the 2006/2007 MCB budget, their arrears on contributions and the accession to the MCB revised statutes. The Bureau decided not to amend the provisions of membership Articles as Central banks which have not yet ratified the amended statutes were already members of the Association. Therefore, such members who have not paid their membership fees are deemed to be in arrears until such time they formally withdraw their membership, even if they have not signed the MCB statutes. ln this regard, the Secretariat was instructed to send reminders to concerned member Central banks to effect payment of their membership fees. 13. Decided, in collaboration with the Governor of the Central Bank of Libya, on the dates of the next meetings of the Association as follows:. August 11-12, 2007: AACB Technical Committee meeting;. August 13, 2007: AACB Bureau meeting;. August 14, 2007: AACB 2007 symposium;. August 15, 2007: AACB Assembly of Governors 31st ordinary meeting. 14. Noted and accepted the proposai by BCEAO to second Mr Samuel Meango as the new Executive Secretary of the MCB. BCEAO was requested to ensure that there is a smooth hand-over from the current to the new Executive Secretary. 4 {!

5 15. At the end Qf the etin.g.! the ChairrsQn of the MCB thanked the BGC>.. Authonties again for Ih exçêtltit. arœngemnts made for the 1.. participants stay ln Dk a aran d for the sucœssof themeetiog,. Done ln Dakar on February 23) 2007 M r. Tom K. Alweendo Governor, Bank of Namibia Chairperson of the Association of African Central Banks (AACB). 5

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