Rome, November 3rd, 2017 – The first Steering Committee meeting of the Financial Sector Stability Fund (FSSF) has been held today in Rome, hosted by the Ministry of the Economy and Finance – it is the first meeting co-chaired by Italy and the International Monetary Fund (IMF). The FSSF's goal is to strengthen financial stability in low-income countries, with special focus on African countries. It is managed by the IMF as part of its technical assistance activities and is based on financial resources provided by donor countries and other international institutions. Italy, which together with Luxembourg is one of the first donors, contributes 2 million euros to the fund. Other donor countries include Switzerland and China.
Today's Steering Committee meeting was also attended by representatives from Australia, China, Germany, Japan, the United Kingdom and Sweden as well as delegates from the European Investment Bank, the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund. The topics under discussion included the work plan and the organisational structure of the FSSF.
Italy has decided to support the FSSF as part of the initiatives under its G7 Presidency, as stated in the press release by the Ministers of Finance and Governors of Central Banks of the G7 countries meeting held in Bari from 11 to 13 May 2017.
'We welcome the IMF's Financial Sector Stability Fund (FSSF), a new capacity development initiative aimed at strengthening financial sector stability in low and middle income countries, which will help foster greater integrity, inclusion and deepening in the financial system, as well as the ongoing work (administrative capacity development) supported by the IMF's AML/CTF (anti-money laundering and combating the financing of terrorism) Topical Trust Funds.'