Banking and financial services policy and regulation

In a bid to promote cross-border economic activities using local currencies, the National Bank of Cambodia (NBC) is expanding the operations of its Bakong blockchain-based payment system to Vietnam, Laos, Myanmar, China, and India. ... ...

The Coalition of Cambodia Farmers Community said on Thursday that the recent shutdown of 104 rural credit institutions that provided loans to farmers will not affect their livelihoods, saying that past interest rates were high. ... ...

A “Standard of Loan Agreement” for the financial sector is under preparation, and institutions are expected to begin adopting its principles by June. But insiders and observers have expressed differing views on the precise provisions of the instrument, its potential effects on market competition, and ...

National Bank of Cambodia (NBC) and Bank of China on Wednesday discussed means to expand the cross-border payment between the two countries as well as develop transactions in other member states of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), said a release. ... ...

The National Bank of Cambodia (NBC) along with other competent authorities are considering taking legal action against firms or individuals operating businesses that go against the banking laws and financial institutions of the Kingdom, NBC announced yesterday. ... ...

Many banks and microfinance institutions (MFIs) in Cambodia have increased interest rates for deposits in dollar and riel currency by approximately 0.5 percent and 1 percent per annum respectively but not decreased rates for loans in the last three months, according to senior officials in ...

During an interview with CoinDesk’s online web show, “Money Re-imagined”, the Director-General and Assistant Governor of the National Bank of Cambodia (NBC) Chea Serey explained how the central bank is working towards financial inclusion by encouraging the opening of formal savings accounts. ... ...

The National Bank of Cambodia (NBC) is continuing to accept small denomination US banknotes ($1, $2 and $5) “free of charge” from financial institutions, despite the August 31 deadline it had set out in May. ... ...

As the Kingdom’s energetic banking sector rockets at an average annual rate of 28 per cent and teems with an ever-increasing number of new players vying for a slice of the market, smaller banks have been left in the dust.​ ... ...

The National Bank of Cambodia (NBC) has requested financial institutions to reduce credit-related fees and lift fines until the end of December 2020, according to a letter it wrote. ... ...

The government will disburse between $500 and $600 million in low-interest loans to financial institutions to enable them to provide loans to businesses at lower interest rates. ... ...

Cambodia’s first draft national strategy on promoting the riel is to be finalised next month and has been sent to the economic and financial policy committee of the Ministry of Economy and Finance for review and endorsement by end of the year. ... ...

The central bank has issued new regulations governing the licensing of payment services providers (PSPs), requiring that all firms providing online services to accept electronic payments have at least $2 million in registered capital, a move expected to increase the stability of the sector and ...

Banking sector leaders have expressed concern over a new government decree that places additional fees on financial services, warning that the costs of what some have described as an “impractical and inefficient” tax would likely be passed along to consumers. ... ...

Cambodia’s central bank is to conduct on-site audits of microfinance institutions to check if they are complying with the interest rate cap that came into force more than two months ago, industry insiders have said. ...  ...

The government is working on legislation that would create a framework for the establishment of a custodian bank in Cambodia, according to securities firms, which claim the absence of this institution could be deterring foreign investors from participating in share offerings on the local stock ...

 Just months ahead of local elections, the Cambodian government has ordered the microfinance industry to cap interest rates on new and refinanced loans at 18 percent a year starting April 1. ... ...

The credit histories of about 400,000 borrowers were added to its database last year, raising the number to slightly more than 4 million in credit bureau database, Credit Bureau Cambodia Interim CEO Mr. Oeur Sothearoath says at the bureau’s newly opened office in Vattanac Capital. ...

The ruling CPP doubled down on Tuesday on its decision to cap interest rates on microfinance loans as a way to help the poor get out of debt, even as analysts called it a political move that would have long-term negative effects on the rural ...

The National Bank of Cambodia announced on Monday that it would set an annual interest rate ceiling of 18 percent for all microfinance institutions (MFIs), sparking concerns that lenders would stop offering smaller loans that often keep the most financially vulnerable afloat. ... ...

The National Bank of Cambodia (NBC) issued a prakas, or directive, last week instructing commercial banks and microfinance institutions to make out more riel loans to their customers, in a bid to promote the use of the national currency. The prakas, which took effect on Thursday, ...

With the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), the tax-collection arm of the United States government, stepping up its global sweep to catch American individuals and corporations hiding their overseas earnings, the American Chamber of Commerce in Cambodia yesterday held a presentation for investors and financial institutions ...

Cambodia's central bank yesterday launched a weekly issuance of Negotiable Certificate of Deposits (NCD) with selling scheduled for every Wednesday – a move aimed at developing the interbank lending market by promoting a secondary market for the short-term interest-bearing certificates. ... ...

More than a year into a government-backed campaign to clamp down on unlicensed lenders, nearly 130 small lenders operating under the radar have come into the fold, officials said yesterday. ... ...