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Denise Dias

Loretta Michaels

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CFI conducted this work as part of our partnerships with the Mastercard Center for Inclusive Growth and Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH. 

Institutional Partners

Report

When financial sectors are buffeted by sudden and dramatic external shocks, regulators strive to implement targeted regulatory responses to mitigate negative impacts -- and the shocks made by the pandemic were no exception.

The aim of this policy report is to examine the types of regulatory flexibility adopted in response to the pandemic and provide early evidence on the impact of these measures.
<h3>The Purpose of This Report</h3>
Based on desk research and interviews and exchanges with regulators and financial service providers (FSPs), this paper aims for the following:
<ul>
 	<li>Describe the main types of regulatory flexibility adopted in developing and emerging economies as a response to the pandemic.</li>
 	<li>Provide preliminary evidence of how regulatory flexibility has impacted low-income financial consumers and micro and small enterprises (MSEs), as well as the FSPs that serve them.</li>
 	<li>Draw some emerging lessons for regulators seeking to better prepare for the future.</li>
</ul>
This is the third in a <a href="https://www.centerforfinancialinclusion.org/series/policy-responses-to-covid-19-their-impacts-on-low-income-customers" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">series of policy papers</a> that aims to analyze policy responses to COVID-19 to assess the impact of policies, both in the short- and long-term, on low-income customers of financial services and the financial service providers that work with them.

Regulatory Flexibility During the Pandemic: Emerging Lessons

Eric Noggle

This research is part of our partnership with the Mastercard Center for Inclusive Growth.

Partner

The data from CFI’s surveys on emerging-market MSMEs tells a stark tale: COVID-19 has closed 15 percent of all businesses; 83 percent of operating MSMEs have seen a dramatic decline in profits, leading to struggles covering operating expenses; 46 percent of closed MSMEs report government-imposed restrictions on movement as the most direct cause of their business closure. There is no obvious "best practice" coping strategy MSMEs are using, and it’s a tough road for many MSMEs trying to return to pre-pandemic financial health.

Armed with the right insights and data, however, policymakers and other ecosystem actors can target interventions that help rather than harm.

This brief contains insights needed to support MSME recovery. It summarizes and analyzes the first wave of data from a research project on the financial health of MSME owners/operators during COVID-19. At the program's core is a longitudinal, six-wave survey in four countries: Colombia, India, Indonesia, and Nigeria. In each country, CFI is surveying MSME clients at one financial institution participating in our <a href="https://centerforfinancialinclusion.org/understanding-covid19s-impact-on-financial-health-of-msmes/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">partnership</a> with Mastercard every other month for one year.

Visit the <a href="https://centerforfinancialinclusion.org/covid-19-and-msmes-data-and-analysis-to-understand-impact/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">COVID-19 and MSMEs: Data and Analysis to Understand Impact</a> program page to interact with the data dashboards and read other analyses.

On the Economic Frontlines of COVID-19: Early Insights From MSMEs Grappling With the Crisis

Webinar

<h2>Our Guests:</h2>
<ul>
<li>
<h3><a href="https://www.mastercardcenter.org/our-team/payal-dalal" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Payal Dalal</a>, Mastercard Center for Inclusive Growth</h3>
</li>
<li>
<h3><a href="https://www.cgap.org/about/people/rashmi-pillai" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Rashmi Pillai</a>, FSD Uganda</h3>
</li>
<li>
<h3><a href="https://blogs.worldbank.org/team/syed-mohsin-ahmed" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Syed Mohsin Ahmed</a>, Pakistan Microfinance Network</h3>
</li>
<li>
<h3><a href="https://www.centerforfinancialinclusion.org/bio/denise-dias" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Denise Dias</a>, Financial Regulatory and Supervisory Consultant and CFI Author</h3>
</li>
<li>
<h3><a href="https://centerforfinancialinclusion.org/people/eric-noggle/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Eric Noggle</a>, Center for Financial Inclusion</h3>
</li>
</ul>
<h3>Moderator: <a href="https://centerforfinancialinclusion.org/people/mayada-el-zoghbi/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Mayada El-Zoghbi</a>, Center for Financial Inclusion</h3>


Live Discussion: COVID-19 Policy Measures and the Impact on MSMEs

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Our Guests:

Payal Dalal, Mastercard Center for Inclusive Growth

Rashmi Pillai, FSD Uganda

Syed Mohsin Ahmed, Pakistan Microfinance Network

Denise Dias, Financial Regulatory and Supervisory Consultant and CFI Author

Eric Noggle, Center for Financial Inclusion

Moderator: Mayada El-Zoghbi, Center for Financial Inclusion

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Further Reading

Regulatory Flexibility During the Pandemic: Emerging Lessons

On the Economic Frontlines of COVID-19: Early Insights From MSMEs Grappling With the Crisis

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