Experts task Nigeria, others on assets management

[TGD]

 FINANCIAL experts from five West African countries, comprising The Gambia, Ghana, Liberia, Nigeria and Sierra Leone have called for prudent and skilled management of national assets in their respective countries to forestall any future crisis in the financial sector of developing countries.

Rising from a regional conference organised by the West African Institute for Financial and Economic Management (WAIFEM) in Lagos recently, the participants urged banks in member countries with valuable experience to share such experiences with other less experienced banks to avoid crisis.

According to the statement issued at the end of the summit, the participants agreed on an urgent need by member countries to adopt investment strategies that would guarantee safety and enhance necessary returns in the financial sector in the region.

The Director General of WAIFEM, Prof. Akpan H. Ekpo had noted that new vulnerabilities and risks had arisen from the overall market downturns and increased mortgage defaults in developed countries.  This, he insisted, underscores the importance of managing risks associated with reserves.

Ekpo identified fall in interest rates on fixed income securities in money markets in the industrialised economies as one of the issues of great concern to reserve managers. On foreign exchange management, Ekpo said the body recognises that exchange rates fluctuate alongside a nation's economic and political standing.  He maintained that monetary authorities "intervene" in the foreign exchange markets to manage the domestic economy.

As a way forward, the WAIFEM boss advised that all stakeholders, both institutional and individual, must rise to their responsibilities, particularly in terms of regulation, risk control, transparency and full disclosure.

His words: "In our investment management activities, we should not lose focus of the three cardinal objectives of reserve management: safety, liquidity and returns. It is vital that member countries should have investment policy as a supplement to investment guidelines authorizing the investing of reserves within risk parameters."

 

 



Source: Experts task Nigeria, others on assets management