MONROVIA – May 21, 2019:- The Executive Governor of the Central Bank of Liberia (CBL), Hon. Nathaniel R. Patray, III, has stressed the importance of a regional workshop of the West African Institute for Economic Management (WAIFEM) on Economic and Financial Market Analysis for Financial Analysts that is being held at the CBL Auditorium in Monrovia.

In his opening remarks Monday, May 20, 2019, Executive Governor Patray said financial markets facilitate the sale and purchase of financial assets such as bonds, stocks, foreign exchange and derivatives. Financial market analysis, which is the subject of the workshop, he said, is therefore concerned with investigating the past, present and forecasting the future of the financial market. Governor Patray listed the functions of financial markets and said they provide individuals, companies and the public sector with access to capital and help in reducing unemployment because of the job opportunities that they create.

“Efforts are ongoing to enable more banks offer modern financial products and services, which include automated teller machines (ATMs), Point of Sale (POS) terminals, electronic fund transfers (EFTs) and mobile money”, the CBL Executive Governor said.  Executive Governor Patray cautioned, however, that these financial products are not without risks such as cyber-crime, money laundering, and financing of terrorism, among others. This, he emphasized calls for robust systems to secure the payment infrastructure as well as improve surveillance of the financial market.

Participants in the week-long workshop, who were drawn from Anglophone West African countries, were admonished by Executive Governor Patray about the challenge of economic and financial market analysis in the sub-region and the shortage of knowledgeable professionals.

The Executive Governor indicated that one of the problems in the sub-region is inadequate information, something that the workshop would help address. He also talked about concerns of data quality and admonished those who collect data to ensure that they are accurate, as failure to do same would mislead policy makers. He however said he knew experts from the sub-region had been assembled to facilitate the workshop, which promises to be educative and rewarding.

Executive Governor praised WAIFEM’s Director General and his team for their capacity-building efforts in the sub-region and declared the Regional Workshop on Economic and Financial Market Analysis open.

In welcome remarks, read on his behalf by the Director of the Macroeconomic Management Department, Dr. Emmanuel Afriyie, the Director General of WAIFEM, Dr. Baba Y. Musa, said the main objective of the five-day workshop is to equip participants with an excellent practical overview and insight into economic and financial markets. It is intended, he added, to update the knowledge and upgrade the skills of financial analysts in economic and financial analysis and performance monitoring.

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