An Investigation Into the Effectiveness of Business Continuity Plans for Commercial Banks in Zambia
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An investigation into the effectiveness of Business Continuity Plans for Commercial Banks in Zambia AN INVESTIGATION INTO THE EFFECTIVESS OF BUSINESS CONTINUITY PLANS FOR COMMERCIAL BANKS IN ZAMBIA By MUSONDA SIMWAYI In partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Masters Degree in Disaster Risk Management At the University of the Free State Department of Agricultural Economics Centre for Disaster Risk Management Education and Training DiMTEC Study Leader: Mr A.J. Jordaan 2008 An investigation into the effectiveness of Business Continuity Plans for Commercial Banks in Zambia A Dissertation submitted to the University of the Free States in Partial fulfillment of requirements for the Masters Degree in Disaster Risk Management 2008 i An investigation into the effectiveness of Business Continuity Plans for Commercial Banks in Zambia COPYRIGHT NOTICE This documentation on commercial banks in Zambia and the Information on Business Continuity Plans in the current report and any information contained therein is strictly confidential and production or distribution in any form, including verbally, is strictly prohibited. No part of this document may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means without prior written permission from the Disaster Management, Training and Education Centre (DiMTEC), University of the Free State in South Africa. ii An investigation into the effectiveness of Business Continuity Plans for Commercial Banks in Zambia DEDICATION This work is dedicated to my wife Josephine Muleya and my children Mable Namwayi, Mumba Namwayi, Suwilanji Simwayi and Lenganji Simwayi for their sacrifices during my studies. It is also dedicated to my late father, Moffat Simwayi, for his encouragement and humility throughout the time we shared together. iii An investigation into the effectiveness of Business Continuity Plans for Commercial Banks in Zambia DECLARATION: I hereby declare that the work which is submitted here is the result of my own independent investigation and that all the sources I have used or quoted have been indicated and acknowledged by means of complete references. I further declare that the work is submitted for the first time at this university/faculty towards Magister degree in Disaster Risk Management and that it has never been submitted to any other university. iv An investigation into the effectiveness of Business Continuity Plans for Commercial Banks in Zambia TABLE OF CONTENTS A Dissertation submitted to the University of the Free States in Partial fulfillment of requirements for the Masters Degree in Disaster Risk Management ......................i COPYRIGHT NOTICE............................................................................................ ii DEDICATION ........................................................................................................ iii TABLE OF CONTENTS .........................................................................................v ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS.......................................................................................x ABBREVIATIONS AND ACRONYMS ................................................................... xi CHAPTER 1 ...........................................................................................................1 1.0 Introduction...................................................................................................1 1.1 Background to the study ...............................................................................1 1.2 Historical Background of the banking sector in Zambia ................................2 Sources: Bank of Zambia (2006) ............................................................................5 1.3 Historical Background of the economy of Zambia.........................................7 1.4 An Overview of Business Continuity Plans .................................................10 1.5 The Missing Link.........................................................................................12 1.6 Statement of the Problem ...........................................................................14 1.7 Main Objective of the Study ........................................................................14 1.8 Research Questions....................................................................................16 1.9 Research Design and Methodology ............................................................16 v An investigation into the effectiveness of Business Continuity Plans for Commercial Banks in Zambia 1.10 Significance of the Study.............................................................................19 1.11 Operational definition of terms ....................................................................20 CHAPTER 2 .........................................................................................................23 2.0 Theoretical Framework and Literature Review ...........................................23 2.1 Theoretical Framework..............................................................................23 2.2 The Purpose of banks .................................................................................24 2.3 Business Continuity Plans...........................................................................26 2.4 The Global Picture ......................................................................................34 2.5 The Zambian situation.................................................................................37 2.6 The relationship between Disaster Management and Business Continuity Management ...............................................................................................40 CHAPTER 3 .........................................................................................................43 3.0 Results and Analysis of Results .................................................................43 3.1 Overview .....................................................................................................43 3.2 The presence of BCP in commercial banks ................................................43 3.3 Testing and reviewing of BCPs ...................................................................45 3.4 Incorporation of BCPs in Corporate Strategies ...........................................50 3.5 Auditing of BCPs.........................................................................................50 3.6 BCPs standards ..........................................................................................51 3.7 The Bank of Zambia....................................................................................53 3.8 Business Continuity Plan at National Level.................................................57 vi An investigation into the effectiveness of Business Continuity Plans for Commercial Banks in Zambia CHAPTER 4 .........................................................................................................58 4.0 Conclusion and Recommendations ............................................................58 4.1 Conclusion ..................................................................................................58 4.2 Recommendations ......................................................................................59 BIBLIOGRAPHY...................................................................................................62 APPENDIX 1: Letter to commercial banks ..........................................................68 Appendix 2: Letter to Bank of Zambia .................................................................69 Appendix 3: Questionnaire for commercial bank officials ....................................70 APPENDIX 4: GUIDED ORAL INTERVIEW SCHEDULE FOR BANK OF ZAMBIA INSPECTORS ......................................................................................................79 vii An investigation into the effectiveness of Business Continuity Plans for Commercial Banks in Zambia ABSTRACT This study was aimed at investigating the effectiveness of Business Continuity Plans for Commercial Banks in Zambia. The study used both the qualitative and quantitative methods to address the objectives. The study targeted fourteen commercial banks, which are the total number of commercial banks in Zambia. The main reason for this was that the population, which included both local and international banks, was relatively small and manageable. Guided oral interviews, documentary analysis and questionnaires were used to collect data. Quantitative data was analyzed using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) while qualitative data was manually analyzed. The study found that all the commercial banks had Business Continuity plans apart from one Commercial Bank and the Bank of Zambia. It was further discovered that the BCPs for eight banks are ineffective and BCP personnel from twelve commercial banks were not adequately trained to handle BCM programmes. As a result they did not have a clear understanding of BCM international standards. The fact that BCP personnel were inadequately trained meant that the majority of employees from banks had a very scanty understanding of BCPs. The main recommendation therefore is to adopt a more holistic approach to BCM and its relevance to the strategic and operational aspects of the banks. There should be viii An investigation into the effectiveness of Business Continuity Plans for Commercial Banks in Zambia an integrated organization-wide approach which must ensure adequate allocation of resources to the BCM programmes.