Bank staff of Kyrgyz commercial banks, representatives of the National Bank of the Kyrgyz Republic (NBKR) and teachers from various schools throughout the country attended the bank training seminars organised by the NBKR and backed by local experts of the Sparkassenstiftung für internationale Kooperation (Savings Banks Foundation for International Cooperation) in June.
Arthur Klauser, corporate consultant of the German savings bank Sparkasse Uelzen Lüchow-Dannenberg and grant-holder of the grant programme offered by Sparkassenstiftung and Eberle-Butschkau Foundation, supported the training events with a lecture on agricultural loans within the scope of his 8-week expert assignment in Central Asia. The German savings banks experience in this field of expertise was met with high response and led to a vivid exchange between all participants. The participating loan experts and representatives of NBKR’s supervisory department agreed that specific trainings on topics like lending to small and medium-sized enterprises or cost improvement for consumer loans through credit scoring according to the German model is also important for the staff of Kyrgyz banks.
With his lecture on current accounts and cashless payment transactions, Sparkassenstiftung’s short-term expert Axel Gellenberg specifically addressed the representatives of NBKR. The regional manager of the German savings bank Sparkasse Mittelmosel – Eifel Mosel Hunsrück informed the audience about the experience of German savings banks with the function, regulation and development of payment systems as well as the introduction of innovative tools, products and procedures. This topic was also met with strong interest and the request for further training by the participants. Special attention was attached to the questions of how the banking and payment infrastructure could be expanded countrywide, how the population could be given a better access to banking and payment services and how innovative payment systems can change the landscape of the banking and financial service sector.
Comprehensive savings banks partnership project in Central Asia: Teachers are schooled in financial literacy
The Sparkassenstiftung supports the training of bank experts within the scope of its savings banks partnership project to introduce dual vocational training in the financial sector of Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Turkmenistan. One important goal pursued by the project is to promote financial literacy among the Kyrgyz population. Sparkassenstiftung’s short-term expert Natascha Mundinger trained 25 selected teachers from various schools in Bishkek and the region of Chuy and gave them impulses how to integrate financial literacy in the school lessons. Based on examples of German teaching practice, the Kyrgyz teachers were informed about innovative teaching methods and how to teach the topic of saving at schools. Following a final exam, the 18 most successful teachers were awarded a certificate as multiplier for financial literacy.
Contact partners:
Matthias Fohs / Carina Lau
Sparkassenstiftung für internationale Kooperation
Simrockstraße 4
53113 Bonn
Phone: +49 228 9703 6617 / 6608
Fax: +49 228 9703 6613