Reserve Bank of Fiji - Departments and Functions

Departments and Functions

The Bank has four main departments – economics, financial markets, financial institutions and currency and corporate services. The key roles of each department are as follows:

Economics

The Economics department's main responsibility is to conduct economic analysis and provide advice on the formulation of monetary policy. Some of the key tasks performed by the department are as follows:

Monitoring economic and financial developments and providing advice on appropriate monetary policy settings in Fiji;

Undertaking research and preparing economic forecasts;

Writing and co-ordinating the Bank's publications; and

Co-ordinating economic policy with relevant authorities.

Financial Markets

The Financial Markets department has the primary responsibility for implementing monetary policy, managing Fiji's foreign reserves and providing banking services to the Government. It also handles foreign exchange regulation and control as well as exchange rates. Its key functions include:

Conducting open market operations to achieve operational monetary policy targets;

Managing Fiji's foreign reserves;

Maintaining appropriate exchange rate arrangements;

Acting as a fiscal agent of the Fiji Government and registrar for debt instruments issued by the Fiji Government. This function has also been extended to a number of statutory corporations;

Providing banking services to Government and commercial banks; and

Administering exchange controls to monitor and regulate capital flows through the banking system.

Financial Institutions

The Financial Institutions department's major objective is to maintain a sound market-based financial system through prudential supervision of licensed financial institutions and the insurance industry. Key areas of duties include:

Regularly reviewing international developments in the area of financial system supervision and payment system structure and their impact on the supervisory arrangements in Fiji;

Supervising licensed financial institutions and maintaining confidence by minimising detriments to the interests of depositors and policyholders;

Processing applications for those wishing to become licensed banks, credit institutions, insurers, brokers and agents; and

Ensuring that prudential policies and guidelines are up to date and that licensed institutions conform to these standard requirements.

Currency and Corporate Services

The Currency and Corporate Services department has primary responsibility for currency issue and internal administration of the Bank, including financial reporting and human resources management. Its key areas of work include:

Ensuring availability and supply of good quality currency;

Ensuring that the Bank has a qualified and trained workforce to meet the output requirements;

Providing support services to other departments in the Bank; and

Ensuring that the financial accounts of the Bank are prepared in a timely manner.

Other Activities

The Bank is also active in promoting financial inclusion policy and is a leading member of the Alliance for Financial Inclusion. It is also one of the original 17 regulatory institutions to make specific national commitments to financial inclusion under the Maya Declaration during the 2011 Global Policy Forum held in Mexico.