Prime Minister Anastase Murekezi has said regional financial institutions were important as they can pool limited financial resources together and create strong capabilities. 

While officiating at the 32nd annual general meeting for PTA Bank, Murekezi noted that increased integration through creating competitive, coherent and attractive economic landscape for investment –even for banking institutions – can lead to faster growth and poverty reduction in the region.

The PTA Bank, otherwise known as the Eastern and Southern African Trade and Development Bank, was established in 1985, with a focus on financing critical areas of priority on the African continent, mainly agriculture and infrastructure.

Although PTA Bank is an institution of the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA)—which Rwanda is part of—its membership is open to Non-COMESA States, non-regional countries as well as institutional shareholders.

"We need to ensure that our regional financial institutions are supported and taken seriously as they play a greater role in our drive to transform, reduce dependency and build momentum toward Africa’s bold new Vision 2063, which the African Union Summit will discuss here in Kigali in July 2016,” said Murekezi.

He added that, Rwanda had benefited from regional financial institutions such as PTA Bank, and takes every aspect of regional integration seriously, since it leads to economic transformation.

"Rwanda as a member of PTA benefited from the growth of PTA Bank, especially in infrastructure, agribusiness and tourism sectors… Rwanda has identified regional and international economic integration as a key element to its long term development path,”Murekezi noted.

Key specific sectors and subsectors to have benefited from PTA’s partnership with Rwanda include, air transport, banking and manufacturing, financial services, hospitality and real estate.

According to Amb. Claver Gatete, the Minister for Finance and Economic Planning, Rwanda had been granted more than US$160 million loan exposure from PTA Bank in various sectors that contributed to the country’s economic development.

PTA is said to have a balance-sheet that surpasses $4 billion, which Murekezi said could give a financial boost to the region and help in "keeping African capital in Africa to serve Africa and African investors.”

Admassu Tadesse, the President and Chief Executive Officer of PTA Bank, noted that since the recovery of the financial sector in the region, financial inclusion gaps had closed, but more support was still needed to promote regional financial institutions.

He said that, given the growing number of global banks from Europe and US—that are pulling back and exiting the African market, for a number of reasons including regulation and need to shore up their balance sheets back home, regional governments should take advantage of their own banks to promote regional development.

"Our own home-grown banking institutions are very important given that there are a number of global economic shocks, yet development in the region is growing by the day, and needs bigger volumes of financing,” said Tadesse.

"Regional banks such as PTA Bank, and a growing number of Pan-African banks, such as Ecobank, KCB and Equity banks among others, have an important role to play in closing the huge gap we still have in financial inclusion”.

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