COMESA Monetary Institute (CMI)
The COMESA Monetary Institute (CMI) in collaboration with the Central Bank of Egypt conducted training in International Reserve Management in Cairo, Egypt from 19 to 30 April 2015.
This is the second year running that the course has been organised following the offer by the Central Bank of Egypt to provide capacity building support on International Reserves Management to COMESA Member States’ central banks.
The training provided hands on training to participants and contributed to knowledge sharing and networking between Member States on international reserves management. Drawing on theoretical and practical applications, the course mainly covered: reserve management guidelines, fixed income portfolio management, forwards, futures & SWAPS, risk, financial risk management, risk and performance management tools, strategic asset allocation, and managing external managers’ portfolio, among others.
Participants were also exposed to live trading on the Bloomberg Screen during the field visit at the Central Bank of Egypt’s dealing room.
Mr Ibrahim Zeidy, the Director of the COMESA Monetary Institute expressed his confidence that the training will enable Member States to maintain adequate level of reserves for meeting a defined range of objectives.
He highlighted the benefits of the training as prudent management of liquidity, market and credit risks; ensuring the generation of reasonable earnings over the medium to long term on the funds invested, subject to liquidity and other risk constraints; and helping member country’s to increase resilience to shocks that may originate from global financial markets or within the domestic financial system.
The training was attended by delegates from the central banks of: Burundi, D R Congo, Djibouti, Egypt, Ethiopia, Kenya, Madagascar, Malawi, Rwanda, Sudan, Uganda, Zambia, and Zimbabwe.
The event provided hands on training, knowledge sharing and networking between the central banks on international reserve management. It also provided a deeper understanding of best international reserve management practices and, enhanced the skills of the participants for effective policy advice and decision-making in the field of international reserve management.
