perks ligoya : co - ordinated regulations for the sadc region address by dr perks ligoya, governor of the reserve bank of malawi, at the conference for the committee of insurance, securities and non - bank financial authorities, lilongwe, 17 september 2009. * * * the chairperson, committee of insurance, securities, and non bank financial authorities, mr patrick mhango the deputy governor, reserve bank of malawi, mrs mary nkosi the general manager, reserve bank of malawi, dr wilson banda distinguished delegates ladies and gentlemen, it gives me pleasure and honour to grace this important occasion. the reserve bank of malawi is honoured to host this year ’ s conference for the committee of insurance, securities, and non bank financial authorities ( cisna ) and in this regard i would like to welcome all delegates particularly those who have travelled from regional member countries to participate in this event. chairperson, ladies and gentlemen, i wish to commend all cisna members for your continued interest and dedication to the sadc mission. your attendance in such large numbers is clear testimony of your desire to achieve economic integration in the sadc region. we in malawi acknowledge benefits of regional integration which, i am glad to say, include systematic growth and development of the financial sector in general, and of insurance, securities, pension and microfinance subsectors, in particular. chairperson, ladies and gentlemen, the financial sector is a catalyst of economic growth and all effort to develop and deepen this sector remains a key public policy challenge. in this regard, i find the role of cisna to be consistent with aspirations of our governments. cisna supports initiatives toward the creation of a strong base of domestic non - bank financial institutions, particularly those specialising in the mobilisation of long - term savings, for example life insurance, pensions and collective investment schemes. in addition, cisna supports measures to increase access to quality insurance and other risk management products by households and entities in the region. cisna also addresses issues pertaining to market infrastructure and liquidity of capital markets in the region. this is a critical function because assurance of liquidity acts as a catalyst for greater participation of investors, both local and foreign. these noble goals are supported by sadc governments through protocols which aim at promoting financial markets. chairperson, ladies and gentlemen, cisna plays a very important role in the improvement and harmonization of regulations for the sadc region. sound and well co - ordinated regulations promote and

authority or mandate. our core strategic objectives which represent essential elements of our mission shall continue to evolve around developing capital markets and enhancing stakeholder confidence ; providing a quality, professional supervisory and regulatory service ; ensuring the existence of an all inclusive and regulated financial sector ; and fostering a competitive, cost effective environment in the financial industry. the aim is to safeguard the financial sector and facilitate economic development through broadening and deepening of the capital market. in order to enhance the regulation and supervision of capital markets in line with international developments and standards, the reserve bank initiated the formulation of a new legislation, the draft securities bill. the bill intends to repeal the capital market development act no 17 of 1990 ( cmda ) which is considered to be less comprehensive in terms of coverage. the bill is currently awaiting enactment by parliament. these legislative reforms including the “ retirement funds bill ” will provide an opportunity for new and extra resources in the securities market that will require your expertise to tap them on. mr. chairman, ladies and gentlemen, the coming in of an additional player onto the market will bring competition, increase trading activity and improve price discovery which is an important function of an organized stock market. african alliance securities ltd brings with them a dimension of “ research ” on the listed companies, which appears to be one of their fundamental skills, which has been erratic on the market. thus we believe that credible and high quality research will keep investors more informed about the opportunities on the stock market and therefore stimulate well informed trading activity. we expect healthy competition whose benefits will trickle down to the investors and consumers of financial services. mr chairman, ladies and gentlemen, before i end my speech, let me take this opportunity to express a concern. last year ( 2008 ), the reserve bank received reports of fraud relating to share certificates allegedly perpetrated by senior members of the brokerage houses. clearly, the reports tarnished the image of the market. while the market did not suffer severe damage, we wish to advise all players to ensure that there are internal controls within your institutions, to adhere to best corporate governance standards and to ensure that procedures are followed when handling clients ’ funds. let me appeal to african alliance and all other market professionals to continually invest in their employees to ensure high standards in the market. lastly, but not least, i wish to advise all capital market professionals to timely comply with the requirements of the capital market development act and its subsidiary legislation. mr chairman, ladies and gentlemen, with these few remarks, i wish to