The 2013 Meeting of the Central Banks and Monetary Authorities of the OIC Member Countries
Date: 27-28 November 2013
Venue: Jeddah - Saudi Arabia

Organized jointly by the SESRIC, the Saudi Arabian Monetary Agency (SAMA) and General Secretariat of Organisation of Islamic Cooperation, the 2013 Annual Meeting of the Central Banks and Monetary Authorities of the OIC Member Countries was held on 27-28 November 2013 in Jeddah, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, under the hospitality of the SAMA. Delegates from OIC member countries – including governors, deputy governors and central bank experts – and representatives of international organizations such as Islamic Financial Services Board, Financial Stability Board and Basel Committee attended the Meeting. Themed “Impact of Recent International Financial Regulatory Reforms on OIC Countries”, the two-day Meeting was comprised of an Expert Group Workshop (EGW) on the first day and a Governors Meeting on the second. The Centre was represented by Prof. Savas Alpay, Director General; Mr. Nabil Dabour, Director of Economic and Social Research Department and Dr. Umut Unal, Researcher.

During the EGW, experts from the central banks and monetary authorities of the OIC member countries reviewed the recent developments in the international financial regulatory reforms and their expected impacts at both the national and international levels, particularly on the Islamic financial industry in the member countries. Featuring various lead speakers, the EGW covered issues related to Basel III capital and liquidity frameworks. The experts discussed the impacts of the recent global financial reforms on the development, stability and growth of Shariah-compliant institutions and the challenges facing the future growth of the Islamic financial industry. Country experiences and perspectives on the prospects and challenges brought about by the recent global regulatory reforms for the Islamic financial industry were also presented by experts from Malaysia, Sudan, United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia.

The Governors Meeting started by opening remarks by the Heads of the organizing institutions. Following the welcoming and opening remarks made by H.E. Dr. Fahad Almubark, Governor of the SAMA, in his opening speech, Prof. Alpay, Director General of SESRIC, welcomed the participants and made some statements on the impact of recent international financial regulatory reforms on OIC countries. Prof. Alpay indicates that the central banks in OIC countries should play a wider role beyond the traditional monetary and financial stability mandate. He mentioned that there is still an increasing risk of another global financial crisis and that reforms alone are unlikely to eliminate all of the faults and weakness in the international financial system. Prof. Alpay underscores that the global Islamic finance industry continues to experience double digit growth of around 17%, with global Islamic banking assets in commercial banks are now estimated at USD1.8 trillion. He indicated that high capital levels should leave Islamic banks well placed under Basel III, and that sovereign and quasi-sovereign sukuk would help mop-up the excess liquidity problems of Islamic banks.

Following the welcoming and opening remarks, the Meeting continued with two presentations on the theme of the Meeting made by two lead speakers, Mr. Svein Andresen, Secretary General of Financial Stability Board, and Mr. Karl Cordewener, Deputy Secretary General of Basel Committee. This was followed by an open discussion by governors and Head of Delegations of the OIC central banks and monetary authorities. They discussed and exchanged their views and experiences related to the recent developments in the global financial reform agenda and the possible future repercussions on the financial and monetary policies of OIC member countries, and possible intra-OIC cooperation areas in the domain of financial regulation. The governors then reviewed and adopted the Final Communiqué of the 2013 Annual Meeting.

As a separate agenda item in this year’s meeting, the three working groups, which were established and initiated their work pursuant to the recommendations of the 2012 Meeting of the Central Banks and Monetary Authorities of the OIC Member Countries, presented the main findings of their Technical Background Reports prepared by each of them in their respective subject areas, namely, Liquidity Management in Islamic Finance, Macro-Prudential Regulations, and Payment Systems.

The Governors welcomed the offer of the Republic of Indonesia and Republic of Suriname to host the meetings in 2014 and 2015, respectively.

Documents

Photos