Press Release: Third Latin American Treasury Forum Seminar in Colombia Discusses Best Practices in Government Treasury Management

August 24, 2012

Press Release No.12/297
August 24, 2012

The Colombian Ministry of Finance and Public Credit, together with the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the World Bank, and the Interamerican Development Bank jointly organized the Third Latin American Treasury Forum (FOTEGAL) seminar that took place in Bogota, Colombia, during August 22–24, 2012. FOTEGAL was created in 2010 at its inaugural meeting in Lima, Peru, and aims at providing a permanent forum for technical discussions and exchange of experiences. The seminar, partially funded by the Government of Japan and part of the IMF’s technical assistance on treasury management to several Latin American countries, brought together treasurers of twelve countries—Argentina, Bolivia, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Mexico, Nicaragua, Paraguay, Peru, and Uruguay.

The Bogota seminar was opened by the Minister of Finance of Colombia, Mr. Juan Carlos Echeverry Garzon. He emphasized that the treasurers have the responsibility of managing government resources prudently and efficiently following best international practices. Mr. Johannes Mueller, Assistant Director in the IMF’s Fiscal Affairs Department, highlighted the major accomplishments of many Latin American economies in maintaining strong economic growth in a difficult international environment. He stressed the importance of preserving the hard-won fiscal credibility of recent years, rebuilding fiscal buffers consistent with a country’s macroeconomic circumstances, and further strengthening fiscal frameworks. To this end, the IMF team provided presentations on the coordination between treasuries and central banks and best practices in operational risk management and business continuity plans for government treasuries. Other issues discussed were the cost of treasury services, the adequate legal framework and specific treasury laws to support the main treasury operations, and the management of the treasury single account. All country participants presented their specific experiences and discussed ways for developing their treasury systems.

The next FOTEGAL seminar is planned to take place in Guatemala in 2013.

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