MICROFINANCE EVENT: Risk Management for Microfinance Institutions and Banks

Risk Management for Microfinance Institutions and Banks

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Cost: Course tuition is USD 1,700 (including lunch and coffee breaks). Room and board and travel are at the expense of participants

Summary of Event: The course focuses on how to measure, manage, and monitor foreign exchange, liquidity, and interest rate risks in order to improve sustainability and profitability, and to meet the requirements of investors, commercial funders, and regulators. The course covers internal structures, testing techniques, limit setting, liability management, and funding structures so managers can better understand the relationship between risk management activities and managing risk itself. After taking the course, participants are able to assess their institution’s current financial risk and employ proven risk-management techniques, tools, and resources.

Background on Organizer: Banyan Global is partnering with Eurom Consultancy in Romania to offer this course on financial risk management for microfinance institutions and banks. Banyan Global, an international consulting firm, has offices in New York City and Washington, DC, and works with banks and MFIs on risk management as well as other operational issues. Eurom Consultancy is a Romanian firm offering a variety of services in training, research and advisory services. It has led research and training in microfinance in Romania and the C&EE region such as the benchmarking study on the Romanian microfinance industry in 2006.

Event Themes and Discussion Topics: Though it is impossible to eliminate risk, it can be managed and used to maximize the potential of an organization and its ability to serve clients. As an organization grows, building a strong risk-management strategy will become increasingly important as it increases borrowing from commercial sources, accesses capital in various currencies, introduces savings products and expands operations. With recent changes in the Romanian financial landscape, risk management is a growing area of concern among financial institutions. It is especially relevant for MFIs transforming into non-bank financial institutions or banks.

At the end of the training, participants will be able to:

Analyze the historical volatility of foreign exchange (FX), interest rate and deposits in order to better understand the reasons for these variables’ behavior.
Construct measurements of FX, interest rate, and liquidity risk.
Devise stress scenarios and tests for FX, interest rate, and liquidity risk.
Quantify the tradeoff between risk and reward in order to define their institution’s risk appetite.
Set limits for FX, interest rate, and liquidity risk levels, and understand some strategies to monitor and limit these risks.
Develop all necessary reports to monitor risk limits.
Analyze a balance sheet for inherent asset and liability risks, with a focus on liability management.
Create an aggregate risk profile and internal audit schedule.
Describe the skills necessary for managers involved in financial risk management.
Define the roles and responsibilities of different committees such as the asset liability committee (ALCO) or Risk Management Committee, with regard to asset liability and financial risk management.

Who is Invited to Attend: Financial and other professionals in microfinance institutions and banks. In the past, participants have included chief financial officers (CFOs), chief operations officers (COOs), management information systems (MIS) managers, accounting officers and internal audit heads.

About the Presenters:

Karla Brom is a banking and finance expert and Senior Advisor to Banyan Global. She was formerly a Senior Vice President at Citibank with oversight of treasury activities in Citi’s branches in Latin America. She has worked with Banyan Global to develop this course, serving as the lead trainer. In the past four years, Ms. Brom has trained and advised MFIs on risk management, including training over 100 MFIs from 38 countries and advising 6 MFIs to establish financial risk management reports, policies and committees.
Maria Doiciu has 15 years of management and consulting experience in the area of business development and microfinance. She works on enabling environment issues for SMEs and financial services in Romania, Eastern European and the Central Asia countries. For the last 5 years Ms. Doiciu held a management position with projects funded by European Investment Fund, European Union Commission and Romanian Government. She is a certified trainer on Banyan Global’s risk management course.

Deadline for Application April 30, 2009

To Register Please Visit: http://www.banyanglobal.com/training.php

For additional information please contact: riskmanagement@banyanglobal.com

New York Office:

1201 Broadway Suite 505

New York, NY 10001

1-212-685-1880

DC Office:

1111 19th Street, Suite 650

Washington, DC 20036

1-202-684-9367

Submit Your Event: http://microfinanceassociation.ning.com/events