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FSVC Albania Program Key Indicators: 1999-2012 |
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| Years Since Inception | 14 |
| Projects Completed | 198 |
| Number of Volunteers | 364 |
| Pro Bono Hours Delivered | 18,843 |
The natural evolution of the Albanian financial sector to provide more sophisticated services and products as the economy becomes more integrated with Europe and the world, the weaknesses in the underlying financial infrastructure revealed during the recent global financial crisis, and Albania’s continuing efforts to move toward European Union membership highlight the importance of the need to continue assistance to help strengthen Albanian financial sector infrastructure. Financial Services Volunteer Corps (FSVC) has been dedicated in its mission to strengthen and enlarge Albania’s financial sector and its current program aims to address the aforementioned trends to ensure that the financial sector remains stable, liquid and transparent. To expand the capacity of the Bank of Albania (BOA) Bank Supervision Department (BSD) to evaluate core risks that threaten the stability of the financial system, as well as to promote increased credit via banks and NBFIs in support of economic growth, FSVC program aims to strengthen risk management, create oversight for bank consolidations, improve oversight for NBFIs and expand transparency in the banking sector. As well, FSVC assists the Financial Supervisory Authority (FSA) in building an effective risk-based supervisory framework for insurance sector, including by training staff, advising on regulation, and supporting the continued development of the actuarial profession.
Key Accomplishments
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| FSVC Volunteer Bill Cundiff (fifth from left) training insurance regulators and market participants in a new training center at the Financial Supervisory Authority |
FSVC has supported the Bank of Albania (BOA) capacity to implement an effective supervisory framework for over a decade. The program enabled the Bank Supervision Department to develop well-trained and competent staff to enhance its ability to detect emerging problems in the banking system while also facilitating the incorporation of international standards of bank regulation into its operations. Examiners now have the knowledge and the tools to oversee commercial bank lending practices and financial reporting. The BOA has also aligned itself with the principles and recommendations of Basel II regarding sound risk management and compliance. Recently FSVC trained BOA staff in the areas of credit, liquidity, market, and operational risk management, as well as International Accounting Standards and International Financial Reporting Standards (IAS/IFRS), and Basel II. Today we continue our work with the BOA to help manage both traditional and new risks facing the banking sector, including those associated with greater exposure to international markets, especially taking into account the high rate of foreign ownership in Albania.
Strengthening the framework for risk-based insurance supervision and capital markets development in
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| FSVC President and CEO, J. Andrew Spindler speaking at the inaugural reception in Tirana, February 9, 2011 |
FSVC’s main goal in working with the Financial Supervisory Authority (FSA) has been to promote and oversee the development of NBFIs. Since FSA’s establishment in 2006, FSVC has been working to help create a framework for effective supervision of a diversified range of insurance products, priced appropriately for the market. FSVC program provided the FSA with technical training and legal commentary to implement risk-based insurance supervision and create a framework for licensing and supervising of asset management companies. FSA examiners now have the capabilities to carry out risk-based supervision of insurance companies. Additional technical assistance addressed structuring the stock exchange, defining conditions for mergers and acquisitions, and establishing a securities depository center. Capital markets development has been particularly challenging and will continue to be so, given that the foreign investment needed to establish a minimum scale of operability has become scarce for the time being in response to the global financial crisis.
Institutionalizing the actuarial profession in Albania:
Although Albania experienced a rapid expansion of its financial service sectors in recent years, the actuarial profession in Albania remained underdeveloped. FSVC partnered with the Albanian Financial Supervisory Authority and the UK Institute of Actuaries to develop and implement two training programs (2006-2007, 2009-2011) to instruct and certify new actuaries. Upon completion of challenging 16-course programs, 22 fully trained and certified actuaries now contribute to the insurance sector in Albania and the region. Further, FSVC has provided guidance to the FSA on creating formal procedures for accrediting actuarial graduates and helped to establish the Albanian Actuarial Association (AAA), advising its first officers on the role the AAA could play in promotion of the profession and development of the financial sector. Today we continue to support AAA, providing professional continuing education opportunities.
In the links below, visitors can view FSVC's most recent Success Stories and News Items concerning Albania:
- Success Stories:
Workshops on Problem Loan Management (June 2012)
Seminar and Consultations on Credit Risk Management (June 2012)
Workshop on Consumer Protection for Insurance Supervisors (June 2012)
- News Items
FSVC Awarded $3.4 million for Technical Assistance to Albanian Financial Sector
Office Contact
Leeza Timofeeva
Country Director
Ismail Qemali str, Nr. 32, 2nd Fl
Tirana, Albania
(T) +355 422 69507
