DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY

INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE

2016 REPORT TO CONGRESS

Section 129 of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961, as amended, authorizes the 

establishment of a Department of the Treasury program to provide technical assistance to 

governments and central banks of developing or transitional countries. This legislation 

also requires Treasury to prepare and submit this report on the conduct of the Treasury 

International Affairs Technical Assistance (TIATA) program by Treasury’s Office of 

Technical Assistance (OTA).
TABLE OF CONTENTS

I. Introduction and Executive Summary 1

II. Program Organization and Principles 3

III. Project Allocation and Funding 4

IV. Project Selection and Assistance Delivery 5

V. Program Evaluation and Monitoring 7

VI. Achievements 8

VII. Special Focus: Financial Inclusion 12

Annex 1: Strategic Plan 2016-2020 14

Table A - 2016 TIATA Budget Execution Plan 16

Table B - 2016 Non-TIATA Sources of Funding 20
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I. Introduction and Executive Summary

This report provides an overview of the activities of the Department of the Treasury’s 

Office of Technical Assistance (OTA) for calendar year 2016. The report includes 

information on program organization, funding, and the process for selecting and 

implementing projects, describes changes in the program’s global footprint, and 

summarizes project-specific highlights.

For 25 years, OTA has helped finance ministries and central banks of developing and 

transitional countries strengthen their ability to manage public finances effectively and 

safeguard their financial sectors. Such assistance is in the U.S. national interest. Strong 

economic governance regimes support financial sector stability, growth, and the 

achievement of broader U.S. foreign policy and national security goals. Developing 

countries that generate more domestic revenue and manage their resources effectively are 

less dependent on foreign aid. Additionally, governments that develop effective financial 

sector oversight regimes are valuable partners in the global effort to combat money 

laundering and terrorist financing. 

In 2016, OTA supported financial sector strengthening in many regions and countries. 

As discussed in greater detail in section VI, OTA projects in Africa (e.g., Uganda), Asia 

(e.g., Myanmar), Latin America (e.g., Peru), and the Middle East (e.g., Jordan) helped 

mobilize revenues, deepen domestic bond markets, increase infrastructure finance, 

strengthen budget systems, improve banking supervision, and combat economic crimes. 

This report includes a special section (VII) on Treasury’s technical assistance in the area 

of financial inclusion – bringing financial services to underserved populations. In 2016, 

OTA deepened its long-standing financial inclusion engagements in Latin America 

(Dominican Republic, Guatemala, Mexico, Paraguay, Peru, Uruguay) and expanded its 

work to include projects in Sub-Saharan Africa (Ghana), with potential engagements 

emerging in Jamaica, Madagascar, and Tunisia. As discussed further in section VII, 

OTA focuses its assistance on helping countries to design financial inclusion regimes that 

are properly regulated and supervised so as to help ensure that financial customers are 

safe and financial institutions are sound. 

In 2016, OTA sustained and in some respects strengthened its engagement in a number of 

U.S. national security priority countries. In Ukraine, the program maintained its 

significant technical assistance footprint, providing assistance in a number of inter-related 

areas: consolidating and recapitalizing the banking sector; enhancing bank supervision 

capacity and resolution strategies; improving the government’s treasury operations, fiscal 

transparency, and debt/liability management; increasing infrastructure finance; deterring

tax corruption; and addressing administrative weaknesses in revenue collection. These 

engagements are central to the broader goal of strengthening fiscal and financial 

transparency, accountability, and effectiveness. As described further in section VI of this 

report, OTA provided particularly timely and critical assistance to the Ukrainian Deposit 

Guarantee Fund (DGF) and the National Bank of Ukraine (NBU) to help stabilize the 

country’s fragile banking sector. 
2

In Afghanistan, OTA continued its engagement with Afghan authorities in the Ministry 

of Finance, although progress in establishing a more significant and sustained capacity 

building presence in 2016 was hampered by security conditions. The program executed a 

technical assistance mission in March focused on revenue generation and management. 

At the request of the Ministry, OTA also completed a peer review of the Afghan 

government’s biannual Fiscal Performance Improvement Plans. The program has been 

able to execute two missions to Kabul in early-2017, one to continue engagement with 

the Ministry of Finance on budget matters and the second to work with counterparts at 

FinTRACA, Afghanistan’s Financial Intelligence Unit and the Central Bank (DAB) on 

the anti-money laundering and countering the financing of terrorism (AML-CFT) regime. 

Since the Cooperation Framework between U.S. Treasury and the Afghan Ministry of 

Finance was approved in early-2015, OTA has conducted eight missions– with at least 

one mission by each of the four OTA teams engaged in Afghanistan (budget, economic 

crimes, banking, and tax). 

In 2016, OTA built out its strategic partnership with the U.S. President's Emergency Plan 

for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) to assist PEPFAR partner countries in mobilizing, and 

making more effective and efficient use of, funding to combat HIV/AIDS. Under the 

partnership, OTA is working to assist finance ministries in developing sustainable 

funding options and efficient resource mobilization in order to transition to host country 

management and financing of anti-HIV programs. Technical assistance will also be 

provided to health ministries to improve health program budget formulation, execution, 

and reporting. 

Recent OTA activities under the PEPFAR partnership include the design of a project in 

Zambia to support an oversight structure for sustainable finance and resource tracking 

along with improvements to the underlying public financial management system to 

support efficient resource allocation. Similarly, an OTA assessment in Uganda resulted 

in the development of a project to promote efficient resource mobilization and monitoring 

of HIV/AIDS resources. Treasury also liaised with Finance Ministers from key PEPFAR 

countries at the Africa Development Bank Annual Meeting, at the Collaborative African 

Budget Reform Initiative workshop, and through bilateral meetings to raise the awareness 

of the need for finance ministries to take an active role in developing sustainable funding 

and lay the groundwork for reduced reliance on donor financing.
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II. Program Organization and Principles 

OTA is organized along functional lines, operating in five major disciplines to assist the 

governments of developing and transition countries:

• Revenue Policy and Administration: Creates more effective tax administrations 

that simplify procedures to encourage voluntary compliance on the part of taxpayers, 

effectively uncover tax evasion, and maintain high standards of fairness and 

transparency.

• Budget and Financial Accountability: Strengthens all phases of the governmental 

budget cycle, including budget formulation, execution, monitoring and reporting, 

Treasury operations, and evaluation.

• Government Debt and Infrastructure Finance: Provides strategic and technical 

assistance to develop market-based means of public finance through the issuance of 

domestic government securities; increases the efficiency of government debt 

management; implements comprehensive debt strategies that diversify sources of 

finance, reduce liability risk and lower debt service burdens; strengthens enabling 

environments for private investment; and accelerates the development of financially 

sound infrastructure projects.

• Banking and Financial Services: Supports the development of strong financial 

sectors in which institutions are well-regulated, stable and accessible, serve as 

efficient intermediaries between savers and investors, and are resistant to criminal 

activity.

• Economic Crimes: Assists the development and implementation of AML-CFT 

financing regimes that are compliant with international standards. 

In providing technical assistance, OTA follows a number of guiding principles:

• OTA supports self-reliance. OTA provides countries with the knowledge and skills 

required to move towards financial self-sufficiency—including the capability to 

generate and better manage their own government finances—and to reduce 

dependence on international aid. OTA generally follows a three- to five-year project 

cycle that is aimed at creating maximum impact and exiting when local capacity has 

been created. 

• OTA is selective. OTA works with governments that are committed to reform—

reform that they design and own—and to using U.S. assistance effectively. Among 

U.S. agencies involved in foreign aid, OTA was singled out for praise in a report 

commissioned by the U.S. Department of State and U.S. Agency for International 

Development (USAID) for supporting country ownership; achieving alignment with 

host country priorities; managing for development results; and fostering mutual 

accountability with host country officials. OTA does not engage with a country 

without a signed bilateral Terms of Reference that sets out the high-level terms and 

aims of the engagement, followed by a tactical-level work plan specifying activities 

in support of those aims.

• OTA works side-by-side with counterparts. OTA engagements are based on close 

interaction between advisors and working-level partners, whether in a finance 

ministry, central bank, financial intelligence unit, tax administration, or other relevant 
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government agency. OTA advisors introduce sound practices in daily work routines 

through ongoing mentoring and on-the-job training.

III. Project Allocation and Funding

As of the end of 2016, OTA had 99 projects in 47 countries. Thirty percent of OTA’s 

total projects in 2016 were in the Americas, 27 percent in Asia, 27 percent in SubSaharan Africa, 12 percent in Europe and Eurasia, and four percent in the Middle East 

and North Africa (see chart below). 

While the specific number of projects and countries fluctuates from year to year, OTA 

has focused on providing more in-depth assistance to fewer countries. This selective 

approach recognizes the complex, systemic nature of public financial management and 

the importance of engaging with a counterpart government in various disciplines in a 

coordinated way to achieve more convincing results and a stronger overall system.

Chart 1 - OTA Projects by Region 2016

OTA received total funding of $53.8 million in 2016, including funds directly 

appropriated to the program and transfers from other U.S. agencies. Seventy-six projects, 

with a combined budget of $37.7 million, were financed either wholly or partly by OTA’s 

direct annual appropriation, formally known as “Treasury International Affairs Technical 

Assistance” or TIATA. TIATA is a multi-year appropriation, which allows OTA to fund 

projects through a combination of new and carryover funds.

30%

27%

27%

12%

4%

Americas

Asia

Sub-Saharan Africa

Europe/ Eurasia

Middle East/N. Africa
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As the chart below indicates, TIATA is the single largest resource available to OTA for 

pursuing its mission. In addition to TIATA funding, OTA receives resources from other 

agencies, such as the U.S. Department of State, United States Agency for International 

Development, the Millennium Challenge Corporation, and host country governments.

Chart 2 - OTA Funding by Source FY 2012-FY 2016

Notes

1. FY12 Assistance for Europe, Eurasia and Central Asia (AEECA) figures include multi-year funding for certain projects.

2. FY12 TIATA figure includes $1.552 million Overseas Contingency Operations (OCO) funding.

3. FY13 TIATA figure includes $1.473 million OCO funding. Both TIATA and OCO amounts were subject to sequester.

4. Details may not add to totals due to rounding.

Tables A and B at the end of this report provide additional data regarding the allocation 

of OTA funding sources in 2016, including funds received as transfers.

IV. Project Selection and Assistance Delivery 

Two of the most frequently asked questions about OTA’s work are: “How are projects 

selected?” and “How is assistance delivered?” As described further below, project 

selection is a process that typically begins with a request for Treasury technical assistance 

$6.9

$1.6 $1.9 $2.2

$9.7

$27.0

$25.6 $23.5 $23.5

$23.5

$10.0

$12.0 $12.2

$19.7

$20.6

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

FY12 Actual FY13 Actual FY14 Actual FY15 Actual FY16 Actual

Department of Treasury

Office of Technical Assistance

Funding FY12 - FY16

($ in millions)

AEECA TIATA State / USAID / Dept. of Defense / MCC / Foreign Govt.

$39.3

$43.9

$37.7

$45.5

$53.8
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and is informed by a careful assessment of a project’s potential for impact and success. 

Assistance is delivered via a resident or intermittent advisor-based project model, or a 

combination of both. Project documentation – in particular agreed Terms of Reference 

and progress reports – is a vital part of the assistance architecture. 

Receiving and Assessing Requests. Requests for technical assistance and information 

regarding potential projects come from many sources, including U.S. embassies, USAID 

missions, other Treasury offices, foreign governments, and international organizations 

such as the IMF, as well as from OTA advisors already on the ground implementing other 

projects. 

For promising requests that are determined to be within the OTA mandate, an on-theground assessment is carried out by OTA subject matter experts. Assessment 

conclusions are shared with the partner government and the U.S. embassy in the host 

country. OTA looks to its host-country counterparts to define project goals from the 

outset. Experience shows that goals and objectives that are not “owned” by the 

counterpart are seldom achieved. 

A project proposal based on the assessment is submitted by the manager of one of OTA’s 

five core disciplines to the OTA Director and Deputy Assistant Secretary for Technical 

Assistance Policy. Decisions to begin new projects or continue (or terminate) existing 

projects, are based on criteria and considerations that include: the need for technical 

assistance; evidence of counterpart commitment to reform and good use of assistance; 

whether the project would complement other projects in a particular country or region; 

the relation of the project to Treasury’s policy priorities and broader U.S. Government 

goals; and the availability of funding. In the course of assessing the prospects for a given 

project, OTA consults with other Treasury offices, and other partners and stakeholders 

such as the U.S. Department of State and USAID (in the field, at the embassy level and at 

the headquarters level in Washington), the IMF, and the World Bank. 

Assistance Delivery Models. OTA carries out technical assistance through two basic 

delivery models: a resident advisor-based project and an intermittent advisor-based 

project. A resident advisor-based project is anchored by an expert advisor living in the 

counterpart country, typically for a period of several years, and working side-by-side with 

officials in the ministry of finance, central bank, tax administration authority or other 

government institution. Treasury has found that working directly with the counterpart 

over a sustained period of time is critical for transferring knowledge and strengthening 

systems, especially in countries where government capacity is very limited. In addition 

to a resident advisor, a resident project frequently includes the participation of 

intermittent OTA experts in specialized areas who make short-term visits. 

For an intermittent advisor-based project, a group of several advisors typically spends a 

total of 30 to 45 weeks per year over several years, in periods of two to three weeks at a 

time, working with host-country counterparts. Between these multi-week direct 

engagements, the counterparts are expected to carry out planned activities that are 

directed toward the objectives stated in a mutually-agreed-upon work plan. Between 
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trips, advisors and counterparts are in frequent contact by email and phone. OTA often 

hires a permanent, full-time program assistant in-country to support the intermittent 

project.

Whether a resident or intermittent advisor-based project model is selected depends on the 

extent and nature of the problems to be solved, and the most practical solutions to those 

problems. Typically one resident advisor will be utilized to cover a single large subject 

area, such as program budgeting or debt management, that will require several years to 

complete. An intermittent advisor-based project will use several advisors to cover a 

multitude of specialized assistance topics, such as audits, arrears collection and strategic 

planning in tax administration, or financial intelligence unit development, techniques of 

financial analysis, investigation and prosecution, or asset management, seizure and 

forfeiture. 

Project Documents. Once a resident or intermittent project is selected for funding, Terms 

of Reference (TOR) are worked out with the counterpart agency and signed. The TOR 

describe the broad goals of the project and represent a bilateral understanding at the 

policy level between OTA and the host institution. Within a short period (normally six to 

eight weeks) after signing the TOR, a detailed work plan is agreed upon between the 

advisor assigned to the project and the working-level counterpart. This plan specifies 

objectives, planned completion dates and deliverables, and is the primary basis for 

regular monthly progress reports to Treasury headquarters. 

The monthly reports are shared with counterpart institutions, U.S. embassy staff, other 

bureaus and offices in Treasury, and other interested partners such as USAID, the 

Millennium Challenge Corporation, and the relevant International Financial Institutions. 

The reports are used as a management tool to oversee the progress of the project and to 

make any necessary changes. The reports also form the information base for responses to 

project queries from U.S. Government officials. In addition, supervising officials 

conduct field visits to meet counterparts and advisors and review the project’s progress. 

Such visits and reviews are conducted, generally, on an annual basis. 

V. Program Evaluation and Monitoring

One of the most important managerial functions in any assistance program is to monitor 

and evaluate individual projects and the overall program. OTA evaluates projects using a 

variety of methods, including on-site evaluations by OTA managers, written monthly 

reports prepared by advisors that describe progress on work plan objectives, and end-ofproject reports which provide a final assessment of project outcomes. End-of-project 

reports are undertaken by an OTA expert other than the project implementer, and are 

conducted typically within three to six months following the end of the project. The 

purpose is to better understand the program’s longer-term impact. OTA completed four

end-of-project reports in 2016.
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OTA also utilizes a formal project evaluation to measure project performance. The 

evaluation focuses on the level of “traction” (the degree to which changes in behavior 

occur—e.g., officials take an active and participative role in pursuing change, interim 

deliverables are on or ahead of schedule), and “impact” (the extent to which the 

objectives are actually achieved) for each technical assistance project. The level of 

traction and impact is measured by OTA advisors and headquarters staff according to 

specific indicators that are relevant to each of the five OTA financial disciplines. For 

example, revenue team indicators include adoption of modern functional processes and 

procedures, and adequacy of investigation and adjudication of internal conduct matters by 

the tax agency. The outcome of the evaluation process informs OTA’s understanding of

the effectiveness of program engagements, and may include steps either to improve 

traction and impact, or, in cases where traction and impact are lacking, to terminate 

projects. The setting of annual baseline targets and measuring results against those 

targets are done in accordance with Office of Management and Budget guidance on 

program evaluations.

For 2016, the baseline targets for OTA’s traction and impact were set, using a 5-point 

scale (with 5 representing the highest possible traction and impact), at 3.6 and 3.1, 

respectively. OTA’s performance goal for traction was exceeded in 2016 with an actual 

score of 3.9, while the actual score for impact was 3.0, below the target but consistent 

with the program’s historical averages.

In addition to the traction and impact evaluation, OTA surveys country counterparts 

(policy and working-level counterparts in the host country) who have worked first-hand 

with OTA advisors. The survey is valuable as it provides direct feedback from those 

directly impacted by the program who have an interest in receiving high quality technical 

assistance, and who in many cases have a basis for comparing OTA assistance with that 

of other providers. In 2016, OTA received 37 survey responses covering projects in 21

countries. The results indicate that, within the respondent countries, project objectives 

are being met and assistance is making an important contribution to strengthening 

institutional capacity.

VI. Achievements

In 2016, OTA partner countries made significant achievements across all five areas of 

public financial management and financial sector strengthening in which OTA is 

involved. Notable accomplishments include the following: 

Banking and Financial Services

Ukraine Stabilizes Banking System. Suffering from a struggling economy and difficult 

security situation, nearly half of the banks in Ukraine failed in 2016. To address this 

challenge, the Ukrainian Deposit Guarantee Fund (DGF) implemented a transformation 

plan developed with OTA assistance to increase its operational capacity and technical 

ability in paying insured depositors, liquidating assets, pursuing criminal and civil actions 
9

against owners and others who caused the banks to fail, and centralizing financial and IT 

operations of failed banks. The transformation increased technical expertise throughout 

DGF, reduced the span of control of any one executive, established strong operational 

and IT support for corporate and receivership functions, created a consolidated asset 

management and liquidation function, and improved internal controls. In part due to 

these reforms, the DGF was prepared to handle more than one million individual deposit 

customers as $2.5 billion was paid out in cash to insured depositors.

OTA also provided strategic advice to the Governor and senior management of the 

National Bank of Ukraine (NBU) on sector-wide stabilization, including plans to bring 

commercial banks up to regulatory capitalization standards. The most important aspect 

of OTA’s work at the NBU was advising on the stabilization of the country’s largest 

bank, Privat Bank, culminating in the December 2016 nationalization of the 

institution. Ongoing assistance is focused on turning the bank back to profitability in 

order to position it for an eventual re-privatization in the future. OTA is working with 

the NBU and the Ministry of Finance to develop strategies for Privat and the other three 

state-owned banks.

Peru Prepares to Join Global Payment Network. Peru was accepted by the Federal 

Reserve Bank (FRB) of Atlanta as a candidate to join FedGlobal, a network of central 

banks that allows correspondent banks to connect directly with one another, resulting in 

remittances being sent and received at lower cost and paid out at wholesale foreign 

exchange rates. OTA assisted counterparts at the Central Bank of Peru and the 

Superintendency of Banks (SBS) in defining key elements of the Peruvian 

interconnectivity strategy and designing a survey for prudentially supervised financial 

institutions to capture information on remittances, transfers and low-value cross border 

payments. While final membership in FedGlobal could be years away, the data standards 

linked to FedGlobal should assist Peruvian banks now in maintaining correspondent 

banking relations. 

Revenue Policy and Administration

Cambodia Increases Debt Collection. Implementing OTA recommendations, the 

Cambodian General Directorate of Taxation (GDT) improved its collection of arrears by 

34% to $84 million in 2016 compared with the previous year. OTA advisors worked 

with the GDT to optimize and standardize procedures, train staff, and distribute written 

procedural manuals. GDT headquarters conducted reviews of its field offices to ensure 

adherence to the improved procedures. In addition, installment agreements for qualified 

taxpayers are gradually being accepted as a way to resolve tax arrears accounts. The 

headquarters tax arrears function is carefully monitoring the implementation of 

installment agreements during their branch office visits.

Myanmar Supports Large Taxpayer Compliance. With assistance from OTA, 

Myanmar’s Internal Revenue Department Large Taxpayer Office (LTO) improved

voluntary compliance, with amended returns yielding over $45 million in additional 

revenue. The increase came about from a combination of improved outreach efforts to 
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large taxpayers and auditors assimilating knowledge and techniques learned in OTA-led 

training sessions. The LTO also implemented new tax regimes for specialized industries, 

including the telecommunications sector which began accounting for commercial tax 

based on usage starting in April. New revenue collected from Myanmar’s three 

telecommunications companies is estimated to total $79 million. 

Guatemala Bolsters International Customs Cooperation. With OTA assistance, 

Guatemala has established international links for data sharing with the U.S. and Panama. 

OTA has obtained the cooperation of U.S. Homeland Security Investigations in support 

of Guatemala’s Customs Intelligence Department. Exchange of information has been 

initiated with the first data of shippers’ export declarations information received 

undergoing analysis to detect fraud, mainly by sub-valuation and changes in 

classification. 

Budget and Financial Accountability

El Salvador Moves Forward on Far-reaching Revenue Collection Technology 

Improvements. With OTA support, in 2016, the General Director of Treasury approved 

and took initial steps to develop, test, and implement revenue collection technology 

improvements for income and value-added taxes, fines, and assessed interest, eliminating 

manual tasks, improving data integrity, and facilitating data sharing. These technology 

improvements will positively impact more than 1.8 million income and value-added tax 

declarations annually of which 61% are currently filed offline manually. Daily 

reconciliations which take between 1 to 3 business days to complete should take between 

2 to 3 hours once the improvements are in place. The improved revenue collection system 

is expected to go-live during the second quarter of 2017. OTA has provided technical 

assistance on project planning and execution, contingency planning, issue escalation and 

resolution, and interagency coordination. 

Malawi Bolsters Budgeting Practices. Working in partnership with OTA, the Malawi 

Ministry of Finance, Economic Planning, and Development implemented program-based 

budgeting in all central government institutions, aligning the budget with the 

government’s strategic objectives and improving transparency and accountability. The

new budget structure improved the integration of the operating and capital budgets to 

better reflect the total resources required to deliver government services. In addition, cash 

forecasting was strengthened by increasing staff capacity and updating the framework for 

assessing the government’s cash requirements, resulting in more reliable estimates of 

government borrowing requirements and more informed decision making on cash 

management.

Mongolia Strengthens Public Financial Management. Using methodology developed 

by OTA, Mongolia implemented a program-based budget process to increase fiscal 

transparency and accountability. OTA trained Ministry of Finance and line ministry staff 

in program-based budget methodology and supported the government in implementing the 

new process. Due to ongoing budget shortfalls, the government plans to conduct 

functional reviews of 15 line ministries using a methodology developed in partnership 
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with OTA. The functional reviews will focus on opportunities for outsourcing and 

eliminating duplication of effort and outdated programs and processes. 

Government Debt and Infrastructure Finance

Jordan Reduces Debt-Rollover Risk. With OTA assistance, the Government of Jordan 

expanded its domestic debt market issuance and significantly reduced its liability 

portfolio risk. Working with counterparts in the Ministry of Finance’s Public Debt 

Department, OTA strengthened institutional and staff capacity in debt forecasting, 

analysis and strategy, as well as public and investor relations. As a result of these efforts, 

the Ministry initiated a program to extend debt maturities by issuing 7- and 10-year 

bonds. By year-end, the average maturity of Jordan's debt portfolio exceeded three years 

compared to the prior 1.7-year average maturity of Jordan’s domestic debt portfolio. 

Additionally, Jordan issued floating rate securities for the first time in 2016 and 

established a six-month benchmark index to serve as the mechanism for re-pricing 

floating rate bonds.

Uganda Formalizes Fiscal Debt Operations. As part of an effort to improve Uganda’s 

public debt operations, OTA assisted the Ministry of Finance, Planning and Economic 

Development in assuming responsibility for domestic debt management from the Bank of 

Uganda (Central Bank), including by helping the Ministry to establish a Directorate of 

Debt and Cash Management. These reforms have resulted in domestic borrowings for 

fiscal purposes being executed in a more competitive, predictable, and efficient manner 

with required Parliamentary approval. 

Economic Crimes 

Myanmar Improves Anti-Money Laundering/Countering the Financing of Terror 

Measures. With OTA assistance, the Myanmar Financial Intelligence Unit (MFIU) 

developed encrypted, machine-readable forms for reporting suspicious transactions or 

transactions over a certain threshold. This replaced a paper-based reporting system that 

was onerous and inefficient. The forms were independently reviewed by seven bank 

reporting entities and their comments were incorporated into the documents. Following 

revisions, the forms were standardized and adopted and, to date, 13,000 transaction 

reports have been electronically received and validated. The MFIU also adopted 

standardized operating procedures on strategic analysis, and tactical targeting and 

analysis, and moved to a free-standing facility physically independent from the Myanmar 

Police Force/Ministry of Home Affairs, improving the independence of the MFIU. 

El Salvador Makes Strides in Management of Seized Assets. With OTA support, the 

Consejo Nacional de Administracion de Bienes (CONAB), El Salvador’s asset 

management agency, has successfully received and is currently managing 84 real 

properties, with most of these occupied or granted provisional use by existing 

government tenants. CONAB also made its first annual distribution of $264,000 in 

forfeited funds, all of which were the result of cash seizures. From 2013 to 2016 OTA 

advised CONAB on standard operating procedures for managing seized assets, such as 
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for accepting custody of and inspecting property, re-registering seized vehicles, and 

distributing seized funds to other government agencies. 

Guatemala Makes Progress in Combatting Money Laundering. Pursuant to a referral 

from the OTA-supported Guatemalan Financial Intelligence Unit to the International 

Commission against Impunity in Guatemala (CICIG), 14 individuals were arrested and 

charged with stealing property from and forcibly displacing local farmers. The operation 

involved 165 police officers and two helicopters. In a separate case, through close 

collaboration between the FIU and the Public Ministry, the Guatemalan Government 

froze more than $1.2 million in assets belonging to the former Guatemalan President, his 

daughter, and the former Vice President as part of the La Linea corruption case. From 

2010 to 2016, OTA provided training and mentoring on FIU development and 

prosecution of financial crimes.

Liberia Conducts First Anti-Money Laundering Exams. With OTA mentoring, the 

Central Bank of Liberia (CBL) completed the first Anti-Money Laundering/Countering 

the Financing of Terror (AML/CFT) compliance examinations of three commercial 

banks. OTA provided assistance on developing interview questions, particularly followup questions, standards for documentation of activities, as well as on the need for 

advance planning. 

VII. Special Focus: Financial Inclusion

Governments, civil society, and private sector actors have elevated the issue of financial 

inclusion – bringing financial services to underserved populations – to reduce poverty 

and promote economic growth. OTA is helping countries develop the capacity to move 

from good intentions to concrete implementation of measures required to bring new 

financial tools and methods to market. 

OTA focuses its efforts on helping countries design policies, implement regulation, 

improve supervision, and increase local capacities while ensuring that financial 

customers are safe and financial institutions are sound. To date, OTA advisors have 

assisted counterparts to develop programs to supervise niche institutions, such as 

microfinance enterprises, into existing banking laws, issue regulations on agent banking, 

introduce simplified savings accounts, foster mobile financial services and other 

electronic payments, promote consumer protection and financial education, and create 

prototypes for secured transactions. 

Traditional banks typically cannot justify spending the capital needed to build brick and 

mortar facilities in remote areas. Efforts then focus on how an agent network can be 

created, with decisions needing to be made on how formal the relationship will be, and 

what kind of oversight will be exercised and by whom. One key element is developing a 

registry of agents, allowing for the identification of agents that represent more than one 

business, and to facilitate fraud prevention.
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OTA’s financial inclusion efforts are branching out beyond the program’s initial work in 

Latin America (Dominican Republic, Guatemala, Mexico, Paraguay, Peru, Uruguay) and 

now include engagements in Sub-Saharan Africa (Ghana), with other opportunities 

emerging in Jamaica, Madagascar, Sierra Leone, and Tunisia.

In Ghana, OTA has worked with the Bank of Ghana’s (BOG) payment systems oversight 

unit to strengthen its capacity to regulate e-money issuers (EMIs) and other emerging 

payment systems. Specifically, OTA has helped the BOG to develop an online data portal 

for the automatic submission of monthly supervisory reports by EMIs, replacing the manual 

submission of Excel workbooks. OTA has also assisted the BOG to develop software 

requirements for the creation of a unified national agent registry, an essential tool for the 

effective supervision of agent networks.

In Guatemala, work has focused on registration of nonprofit microfinance institutions. 

The non-governmental organization sector in Guatemala has traditionally been opaque

with no mechanism to separate nonprofit microfinance institutions from other entities 

such as foundations, associations, and NGOs. The registry, which came online at the end 

of last year, will bring transparency to an area which currently lingers in a compliance 

gray area.

Data from the registry will be compared to benchmarks calculated annually specifically 

for Guatemala with the help of risk rating experts. Once data is analyzed, microfinance 

institutions will be classified in tiers according to their level of performance, governance 

capacities, capacity, and financial stability. The institutions are then given advice on how 

to improve their weaknesses to be promoted into a higher tier, which can lead them being 

eligible for additional sources of funding. Guatemala’s efforts to promote financial 

inclusion have paid off. Points of access rose from 8 per 10,000 inhabitants in 2009 to 

16.6 in 2015, covering 99% of all municipalities across the country.

Looking ahead to 2017, OTA plans to initiate a project in Jamaica to assist the authorities 

to bring simplified bank services to remote regions. Plans are underway to facilitate 

basic account creation for recipients of government benefits to enable such disbursements 

to go digital. Other work envisioned includes measures to enable and oversee more 

mobile payments and to increase the footprint of service locations in remote areas 

through better use of agents and ATMs. OTA is also poised to begin technical assistance 

partnerships with the Government of Madagascar and Tunisia as those countries seek to 

develop a broader and more robust program dedicated to financial inclusion. OTA 

expects the coming year to be very busy as jurisdictions who signed the 2011 Maya 

Declaration, a statement of principles regarding the development of financial inclusion 

policy, seek technical assistance to turn vision into reality. 
14

Annex 1: OTA Strategic Plan

STRATEGIC PLAN 2016-2020

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY

OFFICE OF TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE

Mission. The mission of the Treasury Department’s technical assistance program, 

managed by the Office of Technical Assistance (OTA), is to support the development of 

strong financial sectors and sound public financial management in countries where 

assistance is needed and there is a strong commitment to reform. 

OTA pursues this mission in support of the Treasury Department’s overall mission “to 

promote the conditions for prosperity and stability in the United States and encourage 

prosperity and stability in the rest of the world” as well as broader U.S. Government 

international objectives, such as increasing transparency and accountability, reducing 

corruption, and strengthening the development of market-based policies and practices.

Vision. OTA aims to build upon its reputation as a high-quality provider of financial 

sector technical assistance and policy advice. It aims to be recognized as the provider of 

choice wherever its multi-disciplinary assistance model best addresses country needs and 

U.S. Government objectives. 

The foundation of OTA’s program will continue to reside in five core disciplines—

Revenue Administration and Policy, Budget and Financial Accountability, Government 

Debt and Infrastructure Finance, Banking and Financial Services, and Economic Crimes, 

complemented by the ability to support other aspects of financial sector strengthening.

Values 

• OTA will continue to place the highest priority on capacity building and 

developing country self-sufficiency.

• OTA exits countries when project objectives are accomplished or if country 

commitment to reform is not sustained.

• OTA program engagements are distinguished by flexibility, selectivity and 

responsiveness.

• OTA recognizes that its core strength lies in the dedication, adaptability and 

expertise of its advisors. 

Programmatic Goals

• Encourage depth of engagement and an integrated, multi-discipline approach. 

Where circumstances warrant, deeper, stronger, more comprehensive 

engagements may improve the prospects for material impact. 

• Encourage an approach that targets geographic regions and common financial or 

economic problems. Look for opportunities to place advisors in countries with 

common needs by virtue of location, financial structure (e.g., significant 

dependence upon donor revenue), or dislocations (e.g., highly affected by 

extractive industry income). 
15

• Provide specialized multi-discipline programs and rapid response teams to 

support key U.S. Government priorities.

• Recruit, retain and support a cadre of advisors that manifests OTA’s tradition of 

excellence. 

• Continue to strengthen OTA coordination within Treasury and with other parts of 

the U.S. Government. 

• Enhance awareness of Treasury’s technical assistance program.

• Ensure that OTA’s management systems fully support the achievement of OTA’s 

mission. 
16

Table A

2016 TIATA Budget Execution Plan

Projects Funded By FY 2016 Treasury International Affairs Technical Assistance (TIATA) Appropriation

Team Advisor Category Co-Financing TIATA Total 

LATIN AMERICA AND CARIBBEAN

1 Argentina CRME Intermittent $ - $ 381,250 $ 381,250

2 Belize CRME Intermittent $ - $ 56,310 $ 56,310

3 Colombia BDGT Intermittent $ - $ 131,250 $ 131,250

4 Colombia (Infrastructure Finance) DEBT Intermittent $ - $ 610,917 $ 610,917

5 Dominican Republic DEBT Intermittent $ - $ 44,553 $ 44,553

6 Dominican Republic 02 BDGT Resident $ - $ 577,378 $ 577,378

7 El Salvador BANK Intermittent $ - $ 7,574 $ 7,574

8 El Salvador BDGT Resident $ - $ 839,192 $ 839,192

9 Honduras DEBT Resident $ - $ 596,774 $ 596,774

10 Paraguay BDGT Resident $ - $ 621,619 $ 621,619

11 Paraguay RVNU Project Coordinator + Intermittents $ - $ 545,712 $ 545,712

12 Paraguay (Infrastructure Finance) DEBT Resident $ - $ 603,651 $ 603,651

13 Peru BANK Resident $ - $ 685,662 $ 685,662

14 Peru CRME Resident $ 137,447 $ 421,568 $ 559,015

15 Peru (Infrastructure Finance) DEBT Intermittent $ - $ 285,211 $ 285,211

Subtotal Latin America and Caribbean $ 137,447 $ 6,408,621 $ 6,546,068
17

Team Advisor Category Co-Financing TIATA Total 

ASIA

16 Burma BDGT Intermittent $ 275,000 $ 87,500 $ 362,500

17 Burma CRME Intermittent $ 259,228 $ 291,955 $ 551,183

18 Burma RVNU Resident $ - $ 1,100,481 $ 1,100,481

19 Cambodia BANK Resident + Intermittent $ - $ 1,000,262 $ 1,000,262

20 Cambodia RVNU Project Coordinator + Intermittents $ - $ 527,024 $ 527,024

21 Cambodia CRME Resident $ - $ 133,797 $ 133,797

22 India DEBT Intermittent $ - $ 137,985 $ 137,985

23 India 02 DEBT Intermittent $ - $ 292,606 $ 292,606

24 Indonesia BDGT Resident $ - $ 870,000 $ 870,000

25 Indonesia (Infrastructure Finance) DEBT Resident + Intermittent $ - $ 792,045 $ 792,045

26 Mongolia BDGT Resident $ - $ 599,352 $ 599,352

27 Mongolia DEBT Resident $ - $ 528,464 $ 528,464

28 Mongolia RVNU Project Coordinator + Intermittents $ - $ 667,534 $ 667,534

29 Philippines BDGT Resident $ - $ 15,931 $ 15,931

30 Philippines DEBT Resident $ - $ 658,401 $ 658,401

31 Philippines (Infrastructure Finance) DEBT Resident $ - $ 795,441 $ 795,441

32 Philippines BANK Resident $ - $ 947,177 $ 947,177

33 Southeast Asia (Infrastructure Finance) DEBT Resident $ - $ 345,188 $ 345,188

34 Sri Lanka DEBT Resident $ - $ 400,759 $ 400,759

35 Vietnam BDGT Resident $ - $ 682,990 $ 682,990

Subtotal Asia $ 534,228 $ 10,874,892 $ 11,409,120

Team Advisor Category Co-Financing TIATA Total 

Europe and Eurasia

36 Moldova RVNU Resident $ - $ 267,181 $ 267,181

Subtotal Europe and Eurasia $ - $ 267,181 $ 267,181
18

Team Advisor Category Co-Financing TIATA Total 

SUB-SAHARAN AFRICA

37 Cabo Verde CRME Intermittent $ 1,210,389 $ 38,964 $ 38,964

38 Djibouti BDGT Intermittent $ - $ 119,399 $ 119,399

39 Ethiopia RVNU Resident $ - $ 192,875 $ 192,875

40 Ghana 02 BANK Intermittent $ - $ 396,895 $ 396,895

41 Ghana BDGT Resident $ 172,780 $ 126,000 $ 298,780

42 Guinea-Bissau RVNU Intermittent $ - $ 462,198 $ 462,198

43 Kenya DEBT Resident $ - $ 620,023 $ 620,023

44 Liberia CRME Intermittent $ - $ 345,095 $ 345,095

45 Liberia RVNU Project Coordinator + Intermittents $ 70,661 $ 146,582 $ 217,243

46 Malawi RVNU Project Coordinator + Intermittents $ - $ 239,220 $ 239,220

47 Malawi BDGT Intermittent $ 158,701 $ 95,000 $ 253,701

48 Niger RVNU Project Coordinator + Intermittents $ - $ 614,611 $ 614,611

49 Nigeria BANK Intermittent $ - $ 16,566 $ 16,566

50 Regional East Africa BANK Resident + Intermittent $ - $ 1,093,608 $ 1,093,608

51 Rwanda DEBT Resident $ - $ 662,469 $ 662,469

52 Rwanda RVNU Project Coordinator + Intermittents $ - $ 586,196 $ 586,196

53 Senegal / Guinea DEBT Intermittent $ - $ 129,002 $ 129,002

54 Tanzania BDGT Resident $ - $ 951,750 $ 951,750

55 Tanzania (Infrastructure Finance) DEBT Resident $ - $ 722,308 $ 722,308

56 Tanzania (Infrastructure Finance) 02 DEBT Resident $ 472,829 $ 335,672 $ 808,501

57 Tanzania RVNU Project Coordinator + Intermittents $ 147,970 $ 562,821 $ 710,791

58 Uganda BDGT Resident $ - $ 564,509 $ 564,509

59 Uganda DEBT Resident + Intermittent $ - $ 510,327 $ 510,327

60 WAEMU Regional Securities Agency DEBT Resident $ - $ 570,932 $ 570,932

61 Zambia RVNU Project Coordinator + Intermittents $ - $ 614,172 $ 614,172

Subtotal Sub-Saharan Africa $ 2,233,330 $ 10,717,194 $ 12,950,524
19

Notes

1. TIATA figures include carryover of prior year TIATA funds.

2. Figures include program management (20% of total).

3. OTA Team abbreviations: BDGT = Budget and Financial Accountability; CRME = Economic Crimes; BANK = Banking and Financial Services; DEBT = Government Debt 

and Infrastructure Finance; RVNU = Revenue Administration and Policy.

4. Co-funding amounts may reflect funds intended for more than one year.

Team Advisor Category Co-Financing TIATA Total 

SENIOR ADVISORS

62 Senior Advisor (AFR/EUR) BANK $ - $ 410,530 $ 410,530

63 Senior Advisor (LAC/MENA) BANK $ - $ 337,042 $ 337,042

64 Senior Advisor (Global Financial Inclusion) BANK $ - $ 379,047 $ 379,047

65 Senior Advisor BDGT $ - $ 380,703 $ 380,703

66 Senior Advisor I CRME $ - $ 392,752 $ 392,752

67 Senior Advisor II CRME $ - $ 449,979 $ 449,979

68 Senior Advisor DEBT $ - $ 366,790 $ 366,790

69 Senior Advisor (Infrastructure Finance) DEBT $ - $ 459,916 $ 459,916

70 Senior Advisor RVNU $ - $ 937,778 $ 937,778

Subtotal Senior Advisors $ - $ 4,114,537 $ 4,114,537

Team Advisor Category Co-Financing TIATA Total 

OTHER FUNDED ACTIVITIES

71 Cash Management BDGT Full-time TDY $ - $ 433,413 $ 433,413

72 Deposit Insurance BANK Intermittent $ - $ 618,462 $ 618,462

73 Global Financial Inclusion BANK Full-time TDY $ - $ 610,539 $ 610,539

74 Global Financial Stability BANK Full-time TDY $ - $ 387,354 $ 387,354

75 Global FIU Development CRME Intermittent $ - $ 288,151 $ 288,151

76 Global AML/CFT Preventative CRME Intermittent $ - $ 118,025 $ 118,025

Subtotal Other Funded Activities $ - $ 2,455,944 $ 2,455,944

GRAND TOTAL $ 2,905,005 $ 34,838,369 $ 37,743,374
20

Table B

2016 Non-TIATA Sources of Funding 

Treasury International Affairs Technical Assistance (TIATA)

Purpose Source Amount

Assistance for Europe, Eurasia and Central Asia State 632(b) $8,398,687

Technical Assistance in collaboration with PEPFAR State PEPFAR 632(b) $4,186,390

Technical Assistance to Government of Guatemala and Cote D'Ivoire MCC 632(b) $2,195,899

Technical Assistance to Government of Afghanistan USAID/State 632(b) $2,178,437

Technical Assistance to Government of Sri Lanka State 632(b) $2,000,000

Technical Assistance to the Government of Tunisia State 632(b) $1,500,000

Technical Assistance to Governments of Somalia and Iraq State 632(b) $1,460,031

Technical Assistance to Government of Ukraine State 632(b) $1,350,000

Technical Assistance to Government of Cambodia USAID 632(b) $1,173,000

Technical Assistance to Government of Cabo Verde State INL 632(b) $1,026,455

Technical Assistance to the Government of Algeria State 632(b) $1,000,000

Technical Assistance to the Government of Madagascar USAID 632(b) $998,083

Technical Assistance to the Government of Jordan USAID 632(b) $915,383

Technical Assistance for Energy Governance and Capacity Building State 632(b) $675,000

Technical Assistance to the Government of Ghana USAID 632(b) $464,768

Technical Assistance to the Government of Sierra Leone State 632(b) $436,250

Technical Assistance for the Eastern Caribbean Basin region State CBSI 632(b) $324,354

Technical Assistance to MENA Office of Program Management - Ministry of Interior 632(b) $17,177

TOTAL $30,299,913

Transfer 

Category