Financial inclusion is said to be a panacea for lowering poverty and income inequality. In most developing countries, commercial banks are considered to be the traditional channel of including the unbanked into the formal financial system. This study aims to investigate the role of commercial banks in financial inclusion in Malawi. The study used both primary and secondary data in which a qualitative questionnaire was administered to all banks. Using a combination of stratified and judgement sampling methods, data were collected from 16 bank branches. The results of the study reveal that over the past years there has been dismal performance in terms of expansion of commercial banks' branch network, though the number of ATMs has significantly increased. The study also reveals that agent banking has significantly expanded even in the rural areas suggesting that banks have significantly contributed to reaching the unserved population. The study further finds that most banks provide financial literature to their customers, set very low minimum or zero balance requirements for certain categories of accounts, have consumer protection mechanisms and are also engaged in various initiatives aimed at enhancing financial inclusion. Nonetheless, the study finds that customer fees and charges, distance to bank outlets, Know Your Customer (KYC) requirements and low literacy levels, in that order are perceived by most banks as major barriers to financial inclusion.

The objective of the paper is to examine the sustainability of current account in Malawi. The study employs econometric analysis and solvency approaches to complement each other. Results from both approaches confirm that Malawi's current account deficits were excessive and unsustainable during the period of 1980 to 2010. Results from the econometric analysis reveal that for Malawi's current account to move towards a sustainable path, particular attention should be paid to the following factors: external debt, terms of trade, openness, real exchange rate, net foreign assets and growth. Furthermore, the current account deficit was excessively above the norm, deviating by an average of 5.0% during the study period. The solvency approach to current account sustainability further confirms that the country was running an unsustainable current account deficit. Interestingly, even after the highly indebted poor countries (HIPC) relief, the current account was still unsustainable. In this regard, policies should ensure that the real exchange rate is not overvalued, growth is enhanced particularly in the export sector and also ensure that external debt is sustainable. These will ensure sustainable current account.

<p>This paper looks at intra-SADC FDI, focusing at South Africa outward FDI into SADC countries. LSDV and GMM estimation techniques are applied in a gravity model for the period 1999 to 2010. The study finds strong evidence that intra-trade and intra-FDI are negatively related, suggestive of a substitutive relationship between intra-SADC trade and intra-SADC FDI. The study also reveals that capital account openness, bilateral investment treaties, and labour availability are key in promoting intra-SADC FDI flows. Further, the study finds evidence that agglomeration effects are important for South African investors into SADC despite the fact that they are operating in a common region. The study also finds that FDI from developed countries complement with FDI from South Africa.</p>lts indicate that there is long-run level equilibrium relationship between the stock price of Taiwan and the NTD/USD exchange rates at lower distribution of stock prices, and at higher and lower distribution of exchange rates. The causality results show that there is unidirectional causality running from Taiwan stock price to the NTD/USD exchange rate at higher distribution of exchange rates. The result shows that there is evidence in favor of the portfolio hypothesis.<p> </p>

Proponents of stringent regulation argue in favor of higher capital requirements that it promotes financial stability, while opponents argue that capital requirements might not enhance stability but might in fact increase a bank&rsquo;s riskiness. In this paper, we test this hypothesis with a dynamic panel data model for eight Malawian commercial banks using GMM estimation technique. Our results reveal that there is high persistency in risk-taking behavior of Malawian banks. Further, the study finds that high capital ratios reduce risk-taking behavior of Malawian banks through reduction in NPLs ratio and investment in high risky-assets. Based on these results, imposition of stringent penalties on banks that fail to meet minimum capital requirements and strict enforcement of regulation is key to ensuring that all banks sustain sufficient capital buffers and hence safeguard stability of banking system. However, contrary to corporate governance propositions, the study finds that the structure of board of directors does not significantly influence the impact of capital regulation on bank risk taking in Malawi.