Meeting of Hokim Kholiqzoda with Chairman of National Bank of Switzerland at the Spring meetings of the IMF and the World Bank Group in Washington, USA

On April 11, 2023 the Chairman of National Bank of Tajikistan Hokim Kholiqzoda has held the meeting with Mr.Thomas Jordan, Chairman of National Bank of Switzerland on the sidelines of the IMF Spring meetings.

The Chairman of National Bank of Tajikistan has expressed a satisfaction with the level and quality of cooperation with the National Bank of Switzerland in field of banking, including the rendered technical and advisory assistance. It was noted that in October last year, the delegation of the National Bank of Switzerland visited the Republic of Tajikistan including the National Bank of Tajikistan, and held a series of effective meetings.

During the meeting, Hokim Kholiqzoda drew the attention of Thomas Jordan to the share of foreign capital in the authorized capital of the country's credit financial institutions and the opening of branches and representative offices of Swiss banks in the republic.

It was emphasized that despite the difficult political situation in the region and the world, the growth of performance of banking system has a positive trend and in the first quarter of 2023, the assets and capital of the country's credit financial institutions compared to the same period of last year increased by 25.9% and 24 .7% respectively.

As of March 31, 2023, there are 64 credit institutions operating in the Republic of Tajikistan, including 15 banks and 49 microfinance organizations.

Also, over the years of cooperation, the Swiss National Bank provided us with technical assistance and methodological advices on management of international reserves, monetary policy and development of regulatory legal acts in the field of international reserves management.

During the meeting, the Chairman of National Bank of Tajikistan Hokim Kholiqzoda has noted that the National Bank of Tajikistan, as one of main regulatory institutions, also pays special attention to management of operational risks, relying on modern standards and best practices of central banks in this matter. Due to the fact that the National Bank of Tajikistan has made significant progress in this direction, it would be useful to study the experience of the National Bank of Switzerland.

It is expected that in the process of cooperation, special attention will be paid to the development of key indicators of operational risk, risk valuation (VAR) in the process of managing operational risk, business continuity management, managing third-party risks, cybersecurity risks, speculative risks, conducting stress testing of operating risks, evaluation of the operational risk management process by internal audit, etc.

Hokim Kholiqzoda also has noted the financial instability in the world and stated that this process allows for a reassessment of potential risks, improve the banking system and find new ways for further development. In this regard, the resumption of direct correspondent relations with European banks is considered one of the most important areas of bilateral cooperation.

Thomas Jordan, in turn, has expressed his willingness to implement technical cooperation in the field of international relations and risk management. He also has added that the National Bank of Switzerland is willing this year to arrange and conduct seminars and training courses for such key sectors as monetary policy, accounting and other priority areas of the banking system of Tajikistan in order to improve the knowledge and skills of employees of the National Bank of Tajikistan.

At the end of the meeting, Chairman of the National Bank of Tajikistan Hokim Kholikzoda has expressed his gratitude to the Chairman of National Bank of Switzerland, Thomas Jordan, for fruitful cooperation in the field of banking, expressing willingness to continue and expand mutually beneficial cooperation.

Press Division of NBT