FSC Regional Centre of Excellence - A focal point for enhancing and aligning regulatory standards in the region

It was announced in the National Budget measures for 2018/2019 that the FSC, in collaboration with the OECD, will host a Regional Centre for capacity building and best practices to support Mauritius and the OECD’s goals of strengthening good market governance and combatting against financial malpractices.

The OECD’s engagement in this part of the world will provide a forum to exchange views, knowledge and practices between international policymakers and African regulators; contribute to a deeper understanding of the region’s financial services sectors and market dynamics, and help to fill in gaps in knowledge sharing and capacity building more quickly in the region. This will also form the basis for tailored advice and guidance, in reference to existing OECD standards, which will support the development of a level playing field by better aligning regional approaches to financial services sector governance in the region. In addition, the strategic location of Mauritius in the Indian Ocean coupled by its bilingual advantage positions the island as a convenient platform for both Anglophone and Francophone Africans.

The FSC and the OECD have jointly worked on the establishment of the Regional Centre which will focus on delivering capacity building programmes, aimed primarily at financial services regulators from the Southern and Eastern African Regions. The Regional Centre will also conduct research on topical themes relevant to financial services and financial malpractices for the regional market, and advise on minimum standards that need to be introduced at regional level, amongst others.