Ahmed Naseer: The need for increased efficiency and dynamism of
the financial sector
Speech by Mr Ahmed Naseer, Governor of the Maldives Monetary Authority, at the 45th
anniversary of State Bank of India's Malé branch, Malé, 11 February 2019.
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Your Excellency the President of Republic of Maldives Honorable Ibrahim Mohamed Solih,
Vice President Honorable Faisal Naseem,
Managing Director State Bank of India Mr. Dinesh Khara
Country Manager State Bank of India Mr. Amritesh Mohan
Distinguished guests
Ladies and Gentlemen:
AssalamAlaikum and a very Good Evening to you all.
It is an honour and a pleasure to say a few words this evening, on the proud occasion of the 45th
Anniversary of SBI Male'. I take this opportunity to congratulate SBI - the wisdom, the leadership
and the vision of the management and the hard work of the staff for having made SBI a proud, I
must say an inseparable, business partner of the Maldives. Over the past four and a half
decades, the management and staff of SBI has contributed selflessly to the development of the
Maldivian economy and the financial sector of the Maldives
Mr. President, your presence here today demonstrates the importance you attach to the
development of the financial sector in the Maldives. I am confident that your presence would be a
reassurance for all the businesses and individuals who continue to foster a close relationship
with SBI - known to its customers as India Bank or State Bank.
SBI Male' was the very first bank established in the Maldives which started its operations in 1974
- A big milestone for Maldives; a defacto central bank that would handle all the banking activities
of the Government of Maldives came into existence; MMA was institutionalized almost half a
decade later in 1981. SBI has continued to play a prominent role in the development of the
financial sector and the Maldivian economy. I would like to emphasize that SBI is the largest
foreign bank in the Maldives, holding a significant market share of around 20 percent in terms of
total assets and deposits of the industry. As of December 31, 2018, SBI has extended 5.3 billion
Maldivian Rufiyaa as loans and advances to the private sector, representing almost a quarter of
the total loan portfolio of the industry. More than half of the portfolio is extended towards tourism;
construction and real estate; and trade and commerce activities. I applaud your commitment to
the economic growth of the country.
The Maldivian economy continues its rapid transformation, undoubtedly the financial sector plays
an important role in the development activities of the country, and to support this transformation,
we need financial sector to be more efficient, competitive and dynamic; with abundant
opportunities that are accessible to individuals as well as new investments.
Your Excellency, ladies and gentlemen
In a small economy like the Maldives, access to finance is the key foundation on which the
country can prosper. Therefore, introduction of innovative financial products based on electronic
financial transactions is crucial. Adoption of various Financial Technologies would be the enabler
of choice that would facilitate transparent, cost effective and efficient transactions and enhance
financial inclusion in the Maldives - especially given its unique demography and geography.
However, one has to be careful of the fact that financial sector can be especially vulnerable to
either too little or too much exposure to technology - due to these inherent risks, we need parallel
development of human resource and infrastructure along with regulations and methods for
evaluation.
Institutions need to develop, retain and tap into promising talents within the sector. These talents
would be able to support the required change or may be agents of change. However uncertain
the future maybe, change is certain - being prepared will make institutions more adaptive to
accepting any future opportunity that may arise in this rapidly changing financial landscape of the
Maldives.
Let me assure you that MMA will continue to work towards building the required stability, the
public confidence in the financial sector through effective regulation and supervision and the
development of a modern, robust, reliable and dependable financial infrastructure for the country.
A regulatory framework that is hinged on maintaining the stability of the financial sector is vital to
increase public confidence and trust; also definitive timely actions to abate the untoward effects
of any market reaction to speculation. MMA is working on further strengthening the legislative
framework of the financial sector - regulating the corporate governance of the financial sector,
financial consumer protection, establishing a secured transaction registry, broadening the
services of the credit information bureau are important projects that require the participation and
support of all stakeholders. Especially from contributors like the SBI.
Excellency, ladies and gentlemen!
I would like to once again thank Your Excellency President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih for gracing
this ceremony and; congratulate and thank SBI for their immense contributions made towards
the development of the Maldivian economy and the financial sector.
I wish SBI every success in their operations in the Maldives and thank the management and staff
of SBI for inviting me.
Thank you all. WassalaamAlaikum