Banking and financial services policy and regulation

Two weeks since the central bank launched its FAST system, which provides instant riel-denominated fund transfers between banking institutions, operations are running smoothly, with usage of the new electronic payment system expected to pick up as it integrates more customers.   ...

ACLEDA Bank announced its first-quarter results for 2016 on Friday, reporting $30.19 million in profit for the quarter, up almost 21 per cent compared to the same period last year.   ...

Mobile payment provider True Money Cambodia signed a memorandum of understanding with local microfinance institution Niron Mikroheranhvatho Plc on Friday to facilitate bill payments for the microlender’s 60,000 customers. ...

The National Bank of Cambodia will launch a new payment system to increase inter bank activity in a move to shore up confidence in the Kingdom’s rapidly expanding banking sector, it said in a press release yesterday. ...

Cambodia’s securities regulator signed a memorandum of understanding with the International Finance Corporation (IFC) yesterday for technical assistance on corporate governance standards and practices in the Cambodian capital market. ...

Aceleda Bank was the only Cambodian bank to make The Banker’s Top 100 ASEAN Banks 2016 list, and saw the largest jump up the rankings among all entries, securing the 88th position on the financial publication’s annual list, up from 97th last year. ...

The National Bank of Cambodia (NBC) has doubled the minimum capital requirements for commercial banks and significantly raised the requirements for microfinance institutions in a move experts say will protect and consolidate the country’s banking sector.   ...

Prime Minister Hun Sen told a summit on micro-finance development yesterday that stricter rules needed to be applied to organizations and institutions lending money as many people were being cheated, embezzled and losing their collateral to unscrupulous lenders. ...

A campaign will be launched country-wide to educate the public about how to properly use financial services, a forum on microfinance in Phnom Penh was told yesterday. ...

The International Finance Corporation (IFC) will provide a $50 million financing package to Amret Co to help the Cambodian microfinance institution increase lending to smaller businesses, particularly those in the agriculture sector and rural areas, it said in a press release. ...

Acleda Bank, Cambodia’s largest bank, is morphing its existing training centre into a full-fledged educational institution, after obtaining a licence last month. The new institute will look to provide bachelor’s and master’s degrees in business administration, with majors in finance and banking. The Post’s Sorn ...

Growth in the country’s expanding microfinance sector slowed slight­ly in the last quarter of 2015, but both loans and deposits finished the year about 45 percent high­er than at the end of 2014, ac­cording to figures from the Cam­bodia Microfinance Association (CMA). ...

Though it’s extremely early days, experts this week welcomed Cambodia’s membership to the nascent China-led Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB), saying it would provide much-needed diversity of funding for the nation’s infrastructure and connectivity needs. ...

The National Bank of Cambodia (NBC), or Central Bank, has issued ASEAN Commemorative Coins to mark the establishment of the ASEAN Community on December 31, according to its statement on Friday. ...

A day after the US Federal Reserve increased interest rates, which can potentially impact incoming investments and make debt more costly, experts say the Kingdom’s strong underlying growth will help maintain investments flows and leave the country largely unaffected.The Fed’s 25 basis point rate hike ...

Prime Minister Hun Sen yesterday called on banks and microfinance institutions (MFIs) to suspend loan repayments by borrowers affected by this year’s drought, or either make the loans interest free or cut the rates. ...

As the global economy faces a challenging growth environment, developed and least developed countries are increasingly competing for export markets to spur growth, with many – like Cambodia – aiming to diversify markets as well as products. Cambodia has relied primarily on exports of ...

Rapid credit growth – increasingly financed by bank flows from abroad – poses significant risk to Cambodia’s economy and requires prudential policies to cool lending and reduce exposure, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) warned in a report released yesterday. It said while Cambodia’s short-term economic ...

Japan-based JCB International (JCBI), a global payment brand and a leading credit card issuer and acquirer, has reached an agreement with Cambodia Public (Campu) Bank to expand the reach of its JCB cards in Cambodia. ...

Lending by microfinance institutions (MFIs) rose about 50 percent at an annualized rate during the first nine months of the year, according to the Cambodia Microfinance Association, which said the surge was sparked by economic stability and an increase in demand from clients wanting to ...

The National Bank of Cambodia has decreased the minimum value of negotiable certificates of deposit (NCDs) in a bid to promote interbank lending in the Kingdom’s crowded financial industry. ...

While Cambodian households saw their debt increase just 2 per cent last year, rural household borrowings to service existing loans nearly doubled, new government research shows.Both total and disposable incomes across the 3.3 million Cambodian households rose 16 per cent year-on-year in 2014, with total ...

Cambodia’s central bank will temporarily suspend its eight-month campaign to bring informal moneylenders into its fold as it lacks the resources to review the mountain of registration applications it has received and needs time to tweak the licensing requirements, a National Bank of Cambodia (NBC) ...

Cambodia’s central bank yesterday again raised the issue of the country’s highly dollarised economy, suggesting that government policies and action plans will be enforced over the long term to promote the use of the riel, giving the National Bank of Cambodia (NBC) more monetary control.Speaking ...