OREANDA-NEWS. Chairman of the National Bank of the Kyrgyz Republic Zina Asankojoeva held negotiations with the mission of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and World Bank (WB) on the Financial Sector Assessment Programme (FSAP).

The development of the Kyrgyz economy, banking, monetary policy, as well as plans for the current year and for the medium term were discussed at the meeting of the National Bank management with the mission representatives Mr. Paul Mathieu, Mr. Etibar Jafarov, Mr. Toshitake Kurosawa and Mr. Ilyas Skamnelos.

Zina Asankojoeva said that Kyrgyzstan is facing serious challenges due to the high import dependence and the narrowness of the country's financial sector. However, the Chairman of the National Bank noted a positive trend in the development of the banking and non-banking sectors. Thus, currently the total assets of the banking sector accounted for 29 percent of GDP, their growth achieved 3 percent by March 2013; the loan portfolio grew by 2.3 percent, or 41 billion soms, the deposit base - by 2.6 percent to 55 billion soms. Qualitative and quantitative indicators of the non-bank financial institutions has also been improved. “IMF and the World Bank support in the development and expansion of the financial sector will be particularly relevant,” - said Zina Asankojoeva.

As for the plans for the medium term period, the head of the Central Bank of Kyrgyzstan emphasized that the medium-term objectives of the National Bank will aim to further increase the effectiveness of monetary policy, expansion of the tools of monetary policy, development of financial markets and increasing the competition in the banking sector. “The National Bank will continue to implement the medium-term development strategy in the banking sector, microfinance and payment system. Moreover, the activities on the adoption of the Banking Code and improvement of a number of legal documents will continue to take place. Special attention will be paid to improving the financial literacy of the population,” she concluded.

The Chairman of the National Bank thanked the representatives of the IMF and the World Bank for their support provided to Kyrgyzstan and expressed hope for further fruitful cooperation.