IFC Helps Banks Cope with the Crisis in Yemen
In Washington, D.C.:
Lotte Pang
Phone: +1 202 758-4290
E-mail: LPang@ifc.org
In Cairo:
Riham Mustafa
Phone: +202 24 619 140
Fax: +202 24 619 145
E-mail: Rmustafa@ifc.org
Sana’a, Yemen, March 10, 2009 – IFC,
a member of the World Bank Group, is helping raise awareness among banks
and bank executives in Yemen and across the Middle East and North Africa
about better understanding and managing risk amid the unfolding global
financial crisis.
IFC and the Yemen Banks Association (YBA) jointly organized a conference
in Sana’a, Yemen, entitled “Bank Risk Management in a Changing Environment”.
The conference, held today, brought together senior Yemeni bank officials
and IFC experts, who discussed how Yemen’s banks can build robust risk
management systems and processes.
President of the Yemen Banks Association, Ahmed Al-Khawi, said: “IFC’s
support comes at the right time, as the world witnesses a severe credit
crisis. We are in desperate need for such assistance, which we hope will
be the beginning of long-term support that will make our banks better prepared
to face the crisis,” said Ahmed Al-Khawi, head of the Yemen Banks Association.
Governor of the Central Bank of Yemen, Ahmed Al-Samawi, said: “It is the
best time for IFC and the Yemen Banks Association to organize a risk management
conference, as the global financial crisis has changed all stereotypes,
especially the belief that developed countries are safe from credit crisis.”
Topics discussed during the conference, which supplemented efforts by Yemen’s
Central Bank to strengthen risk management practices in the banking sector,
included operational models for designing and deploying an effective risk
management structure and the types of risk that banks must face on a recurring
basis.
IFC is working closely with banks across the Middle East and North Africa
region to help them structure robust risk management systems and training
key bank staff on risk management.
James Gohary, IFC Senior Operations Manager for Financial Markets in Middle
East and North Africa, said: “We, at IFC, are helping these banks by sharing
views and solutions so they can successfully navigate the current crisis.”
In January 2009, IFC and the United Kingdom’s Department for International
Development launched a three-year program to support Yemen’s efforts to
improve its overall business environment, with the goal of creating jobs
and reducing poverty in the country.
About IFC
IFC, a member of the World Bank Group creates opportunity for people to
escape poverty and improve their lives. We foster sustainable economic
growth in developing countries by supporting private sector development,
mobilizing private capital, and providing advisory and risk mitigation
services to businesses and governments. Our new investments totaled $16.2
billion in fiscal 2008, a 34 percent increase over the previous year. For
more information, please visit www.ifc.org.
About YBA
The Yemen Banks Association tries to promote better banking services and
exchange of information and experiences to help developing the banking
sector in Yemen. It also studies credit, and foreign exchange-related problems,
and propose solutions for them.
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