Technical Assistance Reports
2024
October 11, 2024
Montenegro: Technical Assistance Report-Report on External Sector Statistics Mission (July 29-August 9, 2024)
Description: A technical assistance mission on external sector statistics was conducted for the Central Bank of Montenegro (CBM) during July 29 to August 9, 2024. The mission established measures to address the major sources for the large net errors and omissions (NEO) and reduced the average NEO during 2021 to 2023 from 9 percent to 1.1 percent of Gross Domestic Product. The mission also assisted the CBM and the Ministry of Finance in preparing the Template for International Reserves and Foreign Currency Liquidity—a statistical dataset that covers reserves-related data comprehensively.
October 9, 2024
Ukraine: Technical Assistance Report-Report on Residential Property Price Index (RPPI) Mission (July 15–19, 2024)
Description: A technical assistance (TA) mission was conducted from July 15–19, 2024, to assist the State Statistical Service of Ukraine (SSSU) to develop new processes and methods for the compilation of the House Price Index (HPI). This was the second mission of a project that commenced in April 2024. The mission worked closely with the authorities to (i) develop R scripts to clean the listings data received from an online real estate platform, (ii) implement updated methods for index compilation, and (iii) increase the capacity of the SSSU staff.
October 4, 2024
Republic of Slovenia: Technical Assistance Report-Public Investment Management Assessment
Description: Slovenia’s public investment management institutions, as assessed by the PIMA, perform well overall relative to European peers. Availability of funding for public investment, fiscal targets and rules, maintenance funding and monitoring of public assets are areas of strength. Key areas for improvement are appraisal and selection of projects, procurement, and portfolio management and oversight. The near-term challenge will be to address bottlenecks in the execution of capital projects. Over the medium to longer term, tighter fiscal constraints will raise the premium for stronger appraisal and selection processes.
October 4, 2024
Sri Lanka: Technical Assistance Report-Central Bank Risk Management
Description: Since 2015, the Central Bank of Sri Lanka (CBSL) has enhanced its risk management through a comprehensive framework and is aiming for an Enterprise Risk Management system. Initiatives like the establishment of the Banking Risk Oversight Committee (BROC) and the Non-Financial Risk Management Committee (NFRMC) have been key in fostering higher-level risk discussions. To further integrate risk management into its culture and operations, the CBSL is focusing on strengthening leadership's engagement in risk management, adopting a risk appetite statement, ensuring targeted training, empowering the risk management function, implementing the 3 Lines Model for clear role delineation, and defining risk tolerance levels with Key Risk Indicators (KRIs). The high-level objectives of the IMF’s engagement with the CBSL include embedding robust risk management practices deeply within the organization, aligning the CBSL’s strategic goals with its risk management efforts, and enhancing decision-making processes to improve efficiency and effectiveness, all in line with the CBSL's legal mandate.
September 23, 2024
Seychelles: Technical Assistance Report-Developing a Framework for Climate Budget Tagging
Description: The Government of Seychelles is committed to promoting environmental sustainability and climate resilience, as demonstrated by its decision to prioritize climate as one of the six key areas in the National Development Strategy for 2024-2028 and through the agreements made under the IMF's Resilience and Sustainability Facility, established in May 2023. A central component of these efforts is the identification of climate-related expenditures. This report outlines the development and phased implementation of a Climate Budget Tagging (CBT) framework in Seychelles. CBT is a tailored process that involves identifying, measuring, and monitoring climate-relevant spending across government, serving as a powerful tool to integrate climate change considerations into the budget cycle. By emphasizing the importance of climate change in resource allocation and execution, CBT enhances the government's ability to prioritize climate action, with the ultimate goal of ensuring alignment with Seychelles' climate commitments and Nationally Determined Contributions.
September 20, 2024
Zimbabwe: Technical Assistance Report-Financial Sector Stability Report Follow Up Technical Assistance on the Implementation of the Basel III Liquidity Framework
Description: As a follow-up to the 2019 FSSR, a hybrid remote TA mission supported the RBZ on finalizing the implementation of Basel III liquidity framework, with a particular focus on the NSFR. The mission reviewed the drafts of the NSFR regulation and the template for prudential reporting, supported the RBZ to elaborate a questionnaire for a Quantitative Impact Study (QIS), discussed identified gaps with the BSD management and relevant supervisors, delivered training on LCR and NSFR, and provided recommendations on enhancing the drafts. The mission also discussed the outputs of LCR first assessments, highlighting the importance checking the quality of LCR data reported by banks.
September 20, 2024
Bangladesh: Technical Assistance Report-Report on Residential Property Price Index (RPPI) Mission (May 19–27, 2024)
Description: A technical assistance (TA) mission was conducted from May 19–27, 2024 to assist the Bangladesh Bank (BB) with the ongoing development of their Residential Property Price Index (RPPI). The mission completed the following tasks: (i) assisted with the practical implementation of improved methods for the development of an experimental RPPI for Dhaka, (ii) designed a quarterly report for the dissemination of the RPPI, along with an accompanying methods document, (iii) updated the workplan which outlines the next steps for the project, and (v) increased the capacity of staff on the recommended methods used for RPPI.
September 20, 2024
Sri Lanka: Technical Assistance Report-Liquidity Monitoring and Monetary Operations
Description: The IMF South Asia Regional Training and Technical Assistance Center (SARTTAC) provided technical assistance (TA) to the Central Bank of Sri Lanka (CBSL) focusing on modernizing monetary operations framework and improving liquidity monitoring. Macroeconomic crisis, compounded by the pandemic, has created significant challenges for conducting monetary policy in Sri Lanka. Considering this, the mission proposed a phased approach for modernizing monetary policy instruments and operations, contingent on progress in ongoing debt restructuring, reducing financial stability risks, achieving macroeconomic stabilization, and improving CBSL’s balance sheet. A transitory model for monetary operations was recommended, centered on one week liquidity operations, while still envisaging a certain level of market segmentation. Key recommendations included introducing a single policy rate to strengthen monetary policy signaling, modifying Statutory Reserve Ratio, and operationalizing Standing Facilities to form an Interest Rate Corridor (IRC). In the later stages, when the CBSL can target aggregate liquidity, liquidity management should return to a mid-corridor system with Open Market Operations (OMO)s calibrated based on liquidity forecasts. These recommendations are designed to enhance monetary policy transmission, support the achievement of CBSL’s primary mandate of price stability, a prerequisite for macroeconomic stability and sustainable economic growth.
September 20, 2024
Ghana: Technical Assistance Report-Report on Developing the Forecasting and Policy Analysis System (FPAS) at the Bank of Ghana (BOG)
Description: This technical assistance (TA) report presents the outcomes of the multi-year Bank of Ghana (BOG) Forecasting and Policy Analysis System (FPAS) TA project, conducted between late-2019 and mid-2024 over a total of seven missions, three in-person and four virtual. The project has focused on upgrading and building new institutional capacity for model-based policy analysis and macroeconomic forecasting, along its integration into monetary policy processes and external communications. BOG staff has made remarkable progress and built a strong skillset in providing analytical support to the policymakers. Model-based work plays an important role in the BOG internal deliberations and represents the key input in forward-looking monetary policy formulation, including in regular external communications. Remaining recommendations relate to ensuring FPAS work sustainability and further streamline external communications.
September 13, 2024
United Kingdom-Montserrat-British Overseas Territory: Technical Assistance Report-Report on External Sector Statistics Mission (March 18–28, 2024)
Description: A technical assistance (TA) mission on external sector statistics (ESS) was conducted for the Statistics Department of Montserrat (SDM), during March 18–28, 2024. The mission was undertaken as part of the Caribbean Regional Technical Assistance Centre (CARTAC) work program on ESS. The main purpose of this mission was to assist the SDM in extrapolating the results of the Visitor Expenditure Survey (VES) conducted by the SDM and Montserrat Tourism Division (MTD). The purpose of the VES was to enhance estimates of travel services credits recorded in the current account of the balance of payments (BOP).