On behalf of the Governor, who is not able to be with us this morning due to other prior engagements, I’m pleased to warmly welcome our distinguished facilitators from Pricewaterhousecoopers - South Africa and Zimbabwe. I would also like to welcome colleagues from the Bank to this Risk Identification and Rating Workshop.

To begin with, the Reserve Bank of Malawi recognizes that as a central bank it engages in operations that may carry significant risks and that are also subject to disruptions. Although risks are unavoidable, the Bank considers loss or interruption of core activities to be unacceptable.

The Bank has therefore established a risk management structure to assess risks that may arise from and affect its operations and activities on behalf of its stakeholders and to make recommendations to the Board of Directors and the Governor concerning those risks.

Perhaps let me give you a little background to this event. As colleagues from the Bank will recall, the Bank incorporated Risk Management Department into its structures effective 1 June 2006. Since then, this department has been working on a number of activities including the drafting of risk management policy and framework for the Bank.

On 21 December 2006, the Board of Directors of the Bank approved the provisions of the draft risk management documents which have since been issued to all departments for implementation. In a nutshell the policy and framework serve to ensure a consistent approach to managing risks facing the Bank that may affect (1) the safety and well being of its stakeholders, (2) its financial stability and (3) the ability to achieve its mission objectives; and keep risk management embedded in the Bank’s processes and culture. By coming up with this policy and framework, the Bank is recognizing the need to manage its resources in a responsible manner.

Risk management framework in the Bank has been designed with reference to the Australia/New Zealand Standard on Risk Management. According to this framework, and therefore the Bank’s framework, risk management process has a set of seven critical tasks which include establishing context, identification, analysis, evaluation, treatment, monitoring and communication of risks facing the Bank amongst all stakeholders.

From among its responsibilities, Risk Management Department is expected to assist all departments in the Bank acquaint themselves with the above-mentioned elements of the risk management process. The Department, therefore, requested for the current event with the objectives of creating risk awareness and initiating assessment of risks facing the Bank and assist with the preparation of a risk management program. Risk assessment comprises the processes of risk identification, risk analysis and evaluation. This is my ultimate expectation of what Risk Identification and Rating Workshop will help us initiate or achieve.  Apart from this, I do hope that the workshop should help create the general risk awareness among participants.

As we participate in this workshop, let us be reminded that the risk management structure in the Bank is based on the key principles that risk management is the responsibility of the Board, Senior Management, Heads of department and all employees; and that it is embedded into the Bank’s strategic planning, management processes, and all other daily activities of the Bank to ensure that stakeholders rely on the continuation of services from all business units even in times of crisis. As we are all going through a learning process, it is therefore imperative that we participate fully for our own benefit, for the benefit of the Bank, and of all its stakeholders. I would like to request you to ask as many questions as possible so that at the end of the Workshop you will be well informed and more knowledgeable on all the issues that will be covered.
 
With these few remarks, it is my great honor and pleasure to declare this Workshop officially open. 

THANK YOU FOR YOUR ATTENTION AND MAY GOD BLESS YOU.