An IMF technical assistance report, released on Friday, identified weaknesses in Burundi’s monetary and financial statistics and financial soundness indicators, which are used to monitor banking-sector risks and guide economic policy.
The assessment followed an IMF mission to the Bank of the Republic of Burundi (BRB) in Bujumbura from April 28 to May 9, 2025.
Burundi’s financial system is dominated by commercial banks. At the end of 2024, the country had 14 commercial banks, comprising nine under domestic control and five under foreign control.
Commercial banks accounted for 81% of financial corporations’ balance sheets, excluding the central bank. Burundi also had 49 deposit-taking microfinance institutions, while other financial corporations represented 3.2% of the financial system.
The IMF identified inconsistencies in data submitted by banks, including missing information on accrued interest, differences between detailed statements and balance sheets and incomplete reporting of some items.
The Fund recommended stronger validation controls, including “blocking” rules that would automatically reject non-compliant submissions.
The BRB should also reconcile monetary statistics compiled under the existing and new methodologies, correct discrepancies and document the reasons for any differences.
The IMF raised particular concerns about Burundi’s capacity to implement IFRS 9, which requires banks to use forward-looking models to estimate expected credit losses.
Implementation requires expertise in econometrics, applied statistics, data science and risk management.
The IMF warned that limited technical capacity could compromise the quality of bank provisions and the financial soundness indicators used to assess the sector.
The Fund recommended assigning or recruiting at least two specialists with experience in quantitative techniques to strengthen the BRB’s supervision and financial stability statistics unit.
Burundi has not regularly submitted financial soundness indicators to the IMF since 2019.
However, BRB staff generated banking-sector indicators covering 2019 to 2025, creating the basis for regular reporting to resume after additional checks and reconciliation.
The BRB is also automating production of monetary statistics and financial soundness indicators. About 80% of the required banking annexes had been integrated into the system during the IMF mission.
The IMF said automation should improve data consistency and reliability while reducing manual work, errors and dependence on individual expertise.
–IMF/ChannelAfrica–
