July 2013 - Bank of Sierra Leone

Bank Of Sierra Leone Weekly Event
Brief
30 Siaka Steven Street
Freetown
VOL 1 Issue 54
16 TH JUNE- 17 TH JULY 2013
23 rd June
THE GOVERNOR SPEAKS TO THE SIERRA LEONE ASSOCIATION OF
COMMERCIAL BANKS
The Governor of the Bank of Sierra Leone
has reiterated his commitment to protect
depositors’ funds by ensuring that the financial
sector remained sound and safe. He
made this comment at a meeting with the
Sierra Leone Association of Commercial
Banks, held at the Conference Room, Sam
Bangura Building.
Discussing his concerns about the seeming
drop in public confidence in the safety of
the financial sector due to ongoing police
investigations of some Banks, Governor
Sambadeen Sesay, reminded the Association
that the Bank will continue to maintain
the Black book, in which the names of staff
whose services were terminated for fraud
and other unethical practices would be
recorded. Such persons, he said, would be
prevented from ever gaining employment in
the Sector. He called on all CEOs to cooperate
with the bank in the fight against
fraud, by furnishing the Bank with the
names of employees whose services were
terminated or dismissed. He also called on
them to share similar information among
themselves to ensure staff do not migrate
from one bank to the other after committing
fraud.
Speaking about
the role of the
Credit Reference
Bureau in this
fight, he called on
Commercial
Banks to ensure
all relevant credit
information is
provided the Bureau
for the update
of the data
base. He stressed
that Where information
is hidden
other banks needing
same to make
an assessment of the risk profile of a customer
would do so with inadequate relevant
information. This, he said, poses a serious
threat to efforts aimed at indentifying multiple
debtors in the system.
Governor Sambadeen Sesay also strongly
encouraged commercial Banks to know
their employees by conducting thorough
background checks on candidates for employment.
He urged them to discourage the
habit of bank employees operating accounts
in banks other than the one in which they
are employed. He admonished CEOs to
take necessary action to enhance public
confidence in commercial banking as
quickly as possible. He maintained that a
failure to do so will threaten ongoing efforts
aimed at enhancing financial inclusion
by encouraging migration from the informal
to the formal financial sector.
Cont. on pg 3
12 TH JULY
BANK OF SIERRA LEONE AC-
QUIRES FREE HOLD OF LAND
IN KENEMA-THE RECENT IN A
CHAIN OF DEVELOPMENTS TO
UPGRADE THE BANK
The Bank of Sierra Leone has acquired
a free hold of the parcel of
Land at Maxwell Khobe Street, on
which the Bank’s Executive Lodge
and Chalet are situated, measuring
4.2269 acres. This brings to an end a
lease hold of same since the 1970s and
gives the Bank its first parcel of Land
in Kenema District and its first property
outside the metropolis of Freetown
that comprises land and building.
.
The Kaisamba and Ngunbulango
Families who jointly owned the said
land made an offer of Freehold to the
Bank and in considering the offer the
Governor designated a delegation
headed by members of the Board of
Directors, Harold Hanciles and Sorie
Dumbuya to negotiate the terms of the
offer. The delegation met with a crosssection
of the Families on several occasion,
with a view to negotiating the
purchase price of the said land.
After protracted negotiations, the parties
agreed on the terms of the freehold
and on Friday 12 th July, 2013 the
Bank presented a cheque to the two
families paying in full for the said
Land. The representatives of the families
signed and sealed the relevant
conveyance in respect of the said
property in the presence of crosssection
of family members. The Paramount
Chief of Nongowa Chiefdom,
Chief Amara Bonya Vangahun, also
signed the conveyance giving his
blessings to the transaction.
This deal does not only give the
Bank its first parcel of land in
Kenema but also This is the latest
in a chain of developments, in the
past four years, aimed at upgrading

Page 2
Bank Of Sierra Leone Weekly Event Brief
15 th July
THE GOVERNOR WARNED COMMERCIAL BANKS IN 2011 OF
IMMINENT CREDIT RISKS AFTER A STRESS TEST
At a special meeting held on
Thursday 7th July, 2011 to discuss
the Financial Stability
Analysis Report on the Financial
Sector with Chairmen of
the Boards and Managing Directors
of all commercial banks
operating in Sierra Leone, the
Governor of the Bank of Sierra
Leone, Mr. Sheku Sambadeen
Sesay extensively warned Commercial
Bank to be mindful of
both deposit and credit concentration
risks..
He said the Banking system
was vulnerable to a certain level
in all of the key areas of assessment
and had weaknesses
which needed to be addressed.
Among the recommendations
were that commercial Banks
should provide additional data
to the Bank of Sierra Leone for
financial stability analysis, perform
regular self stress tests,
meet the required capital adequacy
ratio and be mindful of
both deposit and credit concentration
risks. The Governor further
recommended that Commercial
banks should also give
consideration to the reduction
of the interest rate spread to
stimulate investment. See press
release below.
News Release: THE GOVER-
NOR DISCUSSES THE
FINDINGS OF THE FINAN-
CIAL STABILITY ANALY-
SIS REPORT WITH COM-
MERCIAL BANKS
8th July, 2011
FREETOWN, SIERRA
LEONE: The Governor of the
Bank of Sierra Leone, Mr.
Sheku Sambadeen Sesay, extensively
discussed the Financial
Stability Analysis Report on the
Financial Sector, at a special
meeting, held on Thursday
7th July, 2011 with the Chairmen
of the Boards and Managing
Directors of all commercial
banks operating in Sierra Leone
at the Bank Of Sierra Leone
Conference room. The study
was jointly carried out by the
International Monetary Fund
(IMF) and the Bank of Sierra
Leone to assess banking system
risks and vulnerabilities
with focus on testing the resilience
of the industry to credit,
foreign exchange, liquidity and
sovereign risks.
The conclusions of the Report
indicated that the Banking system
was vulnerable to a certain
level in all of the key areas of
assessment and had weaknesses
which needed to be addressed.
Among the recommendations
were that commercial
Banks should provide additional
data to the Bank of Sierra
Leone for financial stability
analysis, perform regular self
stress tests, meet the required
capital adequacy ratio and be
mindful of both deposit and
credit concentration risks. The
report further recommended
that Commercial banks should
also give consideration to the
reduction of the interest rate
spread to stimulate investment.
Governor Sesay emphasized to
the meeting that, the Bank is
determined to protect depositor’s
funds. He urged commercial
banks to focus on financial
intermediation rather than concentrate
on investing in government
securities. Speaking about
the Report’s recommendations
to enhance Bank of Sierra
Leone’s supervisory role, he
the Bank of Sierra Leone will
fundamentally improve in
depth and frequency with the
introduction of the Electronic
Financial Analysis and Surveillance
System (E-FASS) in the
near future. Governor Sesay
also informed the meeting that,
going forward, supervision of
commercial banks will move
from compliance based to risk
based supervision and penalties
will be more severe for violating
prudential guidelines. He
added that joint banking supervision
with other Central
Banks in the sub region, within
the framework of the subregional
college of Supervisors
of the WAMZ will commence
soon. The Governor further
reminded the meeting that a
review of the Bank of Sierra
Leone and Banking Acts, was
in progress with a view to vesting
greater autonomy to the
bank in the conduct of monetary
policy and supervision of
the financial sector.
In the discussions that ensued
on all the issues highlighted,
the commercial banks’ Board
Chairmen and Managing Directors
voiced strong support
for the Governor’s vision for
the industry and the recommendations
of the Study.
The Chairmen of the Boards
and the President of the Bankers
Association, Mr Albert R.
Saltson, welcomed the result of
the Study and assured the Governor
on behalf of all Commercial
Banks of their willingness
to work with the Bank of Sierra
Leone to build a sound, robust
and disciplined Financial Sector
that is akin to the realities
of the challenges confronting
financial intermediation in Sierra
Leone.
27 TH JUNE
THE DEPUTY GOVERNOR REAFFIRMS THE BANK’S COMMIT-
MENT TO ENHANCING FINANCIAL INCLUSION IN SIERRA
LEONE.
The Deputy Governor of the
Bank of Sierra Leone has reaffirmed
the Bank’s intension to
encourage private sector driven
rural financial penetration
through community banks and
financial services associations.
She made this commitment at the
opening ceremony of the Commonwealth
West African conference
on Financial Inclusion and
literacy held at the Bank of Sierra
Leone Staff Recreation Complex,
Kingtom, on
the 25 th -26 th
June, 2013.
The Bank in
addition, she
maintained,
has also
committed
to collecting
financial
inclusion
data and
modernize the Payment Systems
as part of its MAYA commitment,
made in December, 2012
aimed at specific actions to improve
the quality of life of the
citizens by making financial services
available to them.
.

Page 3
11 TH JULY
THE GOVERNOR APPOINTS MR. SULLAY
MANNAH OIC OF SECRETARY’S DEPART-
MENT
Bank Of Sierra Leone Weekly Event Brief
16 th July
HE GOVERNOR TO ATTEND THE MID-YEAR STATUTORY MEETINGS OF
THE WEST AFRICAN MONETARY ZONE (WAMZ) IN ACCRA GHANA
The Governor has
appointed Mr. Sullay
Mannah hitherto,
Head Legal Division
in the Secretary’s
Department, Officer-
In-Charge of the
same.
Mr. Mannah is taking
over from Mr.
Sheirk R Kamara,
who is proceeding
on leave to retirement
after serving
the Bank for well
over 25 years. Before
his retirement
Mr. Sheirk R.
Kamara served as
Division Head,
Board Matters, prior
to his appointment
as Officer-In-Charge
Secretary’s Department.
Mr. Sullay Mannah
has served as the
Legal Adviser to the
Bank for the past
seven years, before
that he was Company
Secretary to the
First International
Bank and a Lecturer
at Fourah Bay College.
23 rd June
THE GOVERNOR SPEAKS TO THE SIERRA
LEONE ASSOCIATION OF COMMERCIAL
BANKS– CONT’D FROM PG 1
Reacting to the Governor’s
comments, the
Vice President of the
Association, and CEO
of Eco Bank, Mr.
Clement Dodo,
thanked the Governor
for the concerns raised
and the comments expressed.
He said they,
as an Association, have
similar concerns and
are gratified by steps
the Bank has taken to
help suppress fraud in
commercial Banks. He
pledged the Association’s
fullest cooperation
with the Bank in
the fight and assured
the Governor of the
Association’s commitment
to discourage
their employees from
operating accounts in
other Banks.
On the issue of restoring
public confidence
in the sector he assured
the Governor that it
has been the subject of
discussion in their
meetings and that they
have already agreed on
a broad strategy to do
so.
.
The Governor of the Bank of Sierra
Leone is to attend the mid year statutory
meetings of the West African Monetary
zone (WAMZ), scheduled to be held in
Accra, Ghana from the19th -25 th July,
2013.
Governor Sambadeen Sesay is expected
to depart Freetown on Tuesday, 23 rd
July 2013 to attend the 40 th Ordinary
Meeting of the Committee of Governors
of Central Banks of ECOWAS member
states on the 25 th July, 2013. This Committee
will consider the reports of the
25 th the Joint Technical Committee
whose meetings are already underway.
Governor Sambadeen delegation include
the Director, Financial Markets
Department, Mr. I K Lamin, the Director,
Banking Supervision Department,
Mr. Tapsiru Dainkeh, the Director, Research
Department, Mr. Mohamed
Mansaray, and the Officer-In-Charge,
Human Resources Department, Ms Jenneh
Jabati. The delegation is already in
Accra attending the technical meetings
scheduled to end on the 23 rd July, 2013.
BANK OF SIERRA LEONE ACQUIRES FREE HOLD OF LAND IN
KENEMA-THE RECENT IN A CHAIN OF DEVELOPMENTS TO UPGRADE
THE BANK FROM PG 1
the bank and protecting its operations.
Recently, the Bank Of Sierra
Leone Staff Recreation Complex
was refurbished and the rehabilitation
of the boardwalks commenced.
The Governor’s residence was also
overhauled and the bank acquired
freehold of a parcel of land in Makeni
to construct a branch. All the
relevant documents with respect to
the Tokeh Resource Center had been
secured and the bank is considering
several options to put the facility to
use- a lease hold, outright sale or an
academic facility.
Within the past four years the bank
has witnessed unprecedented good
will and support from partner institutions
in the way of funding, relieving
mounting pressure on the Bank’s
Budget occasioned by a dare need
for recapitalization by government .
So far, the bank has received two
vehicles and $1.9m dollars for the
acquisition of the Electronic Banking
supervision software Efass from
IFAD. The AfDB has financed the
most ambitious staff training programme,
with over 60 staff benefiting
from local and over sea’s training
in just the first quarter of this
year, with similar number or over to
benefit in the next quarter. The
Bank’s Financial Sector Development
Plan (FSDP) also received a
substantial financial boost when the
World Bank provided $2M grant to
the Bank.
As a forward looking institution, the
Bank will commission the modernized
payment system for Sierra
Leone, implemented with Funds
provided by the African Development
Bank, in August this year.
When fully operational, the System
would be harmonized with those of
other WAMZ member countries.
Cont. on pg 4

Page 4
Bank Of Sierra Leone Weekly Event Brief
27 TH JUNE
THE DEPUTY GOVERNOR REAFFIRMS THE BANK’S
COMMITMENT TO ENHANCING FINANCIAL INCLU-
SION IN SIERRA LEONE. FROM PG 2
Ms Andrina Coker also
brought to the attention
of participants the
Bank’s action points
adopted in its MAYA
declaration calling it a
benchmark against
which performance in
respect of financial inclusion
goals can be
measured.
Whiles pointing out that
there are challenges enroute
the achievement of
these goals, She called
on delegates and organizers
to help throw light
on a number of pertinent
issues germane to the
success of financial Inclusion
efforts in Sierra
Leone, including,
heightening public
awareness of the issue,
for exchanging ideas,
stimulating financial
services provider to develop
products aimed at
responding to needs and
providing a platform
The West African Commonwealth
Financial
Inclusion Conference as
held from the 25 th -26th
June 2013 and the Financial
Literacy Training
of Trainers workshop
was held on the
27 th June. Participants
were draw from, Ghana,
Nigeria, Cameroon,
Trinidad, Liberia and
the Gambia. The bulk of
the participants were
however from Sierra
Leone.
BANK OF SIERRA LEONE ACQUIRES FREE
HOLD OF LAND IN KENEMA-THE RECENT IN A
CHAIN OF DEVELOPMENTS TO UPGRADE THE
BANK FROM PG 3
The Bank of Sierra Leone is the second of the four
WAMZ countries, benefitting from the project, to
have completed implementation but the first to formally
commission the System.
19 TH JULY
THE MODERNISED PAYMENT SYSTEMS
TO ‘GO LIVE’ IN AUGUST
The modernization of
the Payments System in
Sierra Leone under the
WAMZ Payment Systems
Development Project
is currently at the
final stage of implementation.
The T24 Core
Banking Application
(CBA) went live on 3 rd
June, 2013 and preparation
work for integration
with other components
is in progress.
Parallel runs of the
RTGS is ongoing and is
expected to ‘go live’ on
26 th July, 2013 whilst
SSS will go live on 2 nd
August, 2013.
A week of refresher
General Pilot Test of the
ACP/ACH system
ended on Monday, 15 th
July, 2013. Parallel runs
of the ACP/ACH system
commenced on 17 th
July, 2013 and will on
2 nd August, 2013. The
‘go live’ date of this
Au-
component is 5 th
gust, 2013.
With respect to work at
the DR Site, installation
of equipment by the
various Solution Providers
is
Tender documents and architectural designs have
been completed for the rehabilitation of all the administrative
buildings of the Bank, in both Freetown
and Kenema. New Elevators are currently
being installed and a brand new building constructed
to house the Disaster Recovery Site for the
Modernized Payment system. In the words of the
AfDB, the funding partner, the best in the sub region
so far