Tatiana Ivanichkina, Vice-President of NBM
The visit of a delegation of the National Bank of Moldova (NBM), headed by Governor Anca Dragu, from April 21 to 26, 2025, to Washington, D.C., ended with participation in the “Regional Economic Outlook Breakfast” event under the auspices of the IMF.
One of the central topics was the launch of the Financial Sector Assessment Program (FSAP) at the request of the NBM. The program aims to provide an objective picture of the country’s financial system and promote necessary reforms in line with international standards – such as Basel III. The initiative to launch the IMF’s technical assistance program is driven, according to the NBM, by “the need to strengthen financial risk management capacity”.
The FSAP program is a comprehensive financial system assessment tool implemented jointly by the IMF and the World Bank. It involves an in-depth analysis of the quality of regulation and supervision of the banking system, stress tests for banks, and an assessment of crisis management capacity. The program will also make clear how the financial system supports access to finance for small and medium-sized enterprises, as well as the economy as a whole.
The assessment process consists of several phases, the first of which already took place in February and consisted of identifying the areas to be covered by the program. Subsequent IMF expert missions will analyze the situation in the financial sector in detail, and the results will result in a report that will be submitted to the IMF and World Bank Boards for approval.
“Through this assessment, the NBM aims to obtain a clear and objective picture of the financial system’s performance. This will contribute to identifying opportunities for reforming the sector, implementing international standards, such as Basel III principles, and strengthening the capacity to respond to economic challenges,” said Tatiana Ivanichkina, Vice President of the NBM.
