Millions of hardworking Malawians and small business owners are being frozen out of formal bank loans simply because of HOW they earn their living, a leading economist has warned. Dr Bertha Bangala Chikadza, President of the Economic Association of Malawi (ECAMA) and a senior macroeconomics lecturer at the University of Malawi, revealed that an eye-watering […]
Government has gazetted sweeping new measures aimed at strengthening customer identification and due diligence across Malawi’s banking sector, in a fresh crackdown designed to choke off money laundering and other financial crimes plaguing the country’s financial system. The new measures, contained in two notices issued under the Financial Crimes Act, formally revoke the previous 2018 […]
Malawi’s parliament has passed a new law paving the way for cheques to be phased out of the country’s banking system, in the latest of a string of financial reforms rushed through in recent weeks. The Payment Systems Amendment Bill was passed to bring the law into line with plans to scrap cheque usage entirely, […]
Malawi’s parliament has passed the Deposit Insurance Corporation Bill without amendments, part of a broader legislative push this month aimed at strengthening the country’s financial architecture and bringing regulation up to date with an evolving banking sector. The bill extends protection to the entire population of bank depositors, a move intended to shore up confidence […]
Parliament has deferred a Financial Services amendment bill to introduce a lending rate ceiling for banks. The bill has met stiff resistance from Bankers Association of Malawi (BAM), commercial banks and Reserve Bank of Malawi (RBM) and MPs mainly from the ruling party. The government even issued a very misleading press release disapproving the amendment. […]
Auditor Anthony Mukumbwa has commended that the private member Bill tabled by Malawi Congress Party (MCP) Member of Parliament Kusamba Dzonzi, which targets setting up a ceiling of interest rates charged by banks to a maximum of 5% above the Policy Rate set by the Reserve Bank, should be fully supported by every MP, who […]
Experts have said Malawi is moving a step forward and miles backwards in policies meant to stabilise the economy one of them being financial inclusion. This is coming just few days after Minister of Finance Ken Lipenga reported to Parliament that government had made headway to include those in need of banking services through Financial […]