Afghanistan's Banking Sector Corrupt and Inept

A recent report from the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR) has found that Afghanistan's banking regulatory agency has stonewalled American attempts at oversight and intervention. The report states that the Afghan financial sector (infected with corruption and graft) could severely hinder the country's development. The Afghan government's financial sector regulatory agency - known as Da Afghanistan Bank (DAB) - has had all aid from the U.S. government cut off due to non-compliance with safeguard measures and monitoring requested by the United States. In addition, technical aid from other international players remains limited due to the past history of corruption and the lack of accountability in the banking oversight process. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) does not have any advisors assisting the DAB. The report is entitled Afghanistan's Banking Sector: The Central Bank's Capacity to Regulate Commercial Banks Remains Weak, SIGAR 14-16 Audit Report, January 2014. The report, an Adobe Acrobat PDF (17 pages) is available at this link.