Central Bank of Iraq (CBI) and Superintendencia de Bancos de la República Dominicana (SB) have joined AFI as its newest members, further strengthening the global presence and standing of the world’s leading organization on financial inclusion policy and regulation.

AFI, whose pioneering work is building towards a more resilient and sustainable recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic, is led and owned by its 101 members from central banks, ministries of finance and other financial regulators in 89 countries.

CBI and SB bring invaluable knowledge and experiences in financial inclusion to both the network’s global membership and key financial inclusion initiatives in the region: Financial Inclusion for the Arab Region Initiative and Financial Inclusion Initiative for Latin America and the Caribbean.

CBI joined as a principal member in December 2020. Its governor, Mustafa Ghaleb, expressed enthusiasm towards the network in an upcoming leaders’ perspective.

“CBI’s membership of AFI will support the central bank on its financial inclusion journey and efforts to strengthen relevant policies and regulation for the benefit of future generations,” he said.

Meanwhile, SB became an associate member of AFI in June 2021, under the leadership of Superintendent Alejandro Fernández Whipple. In an announcement on social media, SB praised the role of AFI in accelerating financial inclusion across developing and emerging market economies.

“[AFI] facilitates access to knowledge and international cooperation at the highest level, which is important for formulating policies that promote the inclusion and quality of financial services,” SB said.

Previously, the superintendencia was a member of the network from 2013 until 2015.

FILAC and FIARI are regional initiatives created as driving forces for advancing financial inclusion in their respective regions. FILAC was launched in 2016 with assistance from Canada’s International Development Research Center, while FIARI was created in 2017 and is supported by AFI, the Arab Monetary Fund, GIZ and World Bank.

Please join us in welcome our new members!

Click here to view AFI’s full list of members.