A Memorandum of Economic and Financial Policies (Mefp) contained in the International Monetary Fund (IMF) Country Report on Malawi, has praised the country’s nine commercial banks for complying with the International Financial Reporting Standards (Ifrs9) by the International Accounting Standards Board.

The report not only observes that the banks are liquid and in stable condition, it  also acknowledges that the Malawi Government authorities are committed to strengthening banking resilience and financial sector oversight. The report also applauds that all the commercial banks in Malawi are fully compliant with the Ifrs9 standards which went into effect in January 2018. “We will ensure that all banks continue having adequate provisioning in line with the Ifrs9 standards and ensure that their non-performing loans [NPLs] remain within the regulatory requirement” says part of the report.

Two months ago, during the Wealth Creation Forum, FDH Bank Acting Managing Director, William Mpinganjira, called on commercial banks to embrace digital services for better services. He outlined that Reserve Bank of Malawi (RBM) records show that three million people have bank accounts, against six million subscribers for mobile money. Talking his walk, the Acting MD FDH Bank is taking steps towards digital financial services, for instance, Airtel Kutchova and Ufulu Digital Account services among many others.