WP/02/6 IMF Working Paper Financial Reforms and Interest Rate Spreads in the Commercial Banking System in Malawi Montfort Mlachila and Ephraim W. Chirwa INTERNATIONAL MONETARY FUND © 2002 International Monetary Fund WP/02/6 IMF Working Paper Policy Development and Review Department Financial Reforms and Interest Rate Spreads in the Commercial Banking System in Malawi Prepared by Montfort Mlachila and Ephraim W. Chirwa1 Authorized for distribution by Doris C. Ross 1anuary 2002 Abstract The views expressed in this Working Paper are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily represent those of the IMF or IMF policy. Working Papers describe research in progress by the author(s) and are published to elicit comments and to further debate. This study investigates the impact of financial sector reforms on interest rate spreads in the commercial banking system in Malawi. The financial reform program commenced in 1989 when both the Reserve Bank Act and the Banking Act were revised with the easing of entry requirements into the banking system, and indirect monetary policy instruments were subsequently introduced in 1990. The adoption of a floating exchange rate in 1994 marked the end of major policy reforms in the Malawian financial sector. Using alternative definitions of spreads, our analysis shows that spreads increased significantly following liberalization, and panel regression results suggest that the observed high spreads can be attributed to high monopoly power, high reserve requirements, high central bank discount rate and high inflation. JEL Classification Numbers:E43; G21; L13 Keywords: Commercial banks; interest spreads; financial liberalization; Malawi Author's E-Mail Address:
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[email protected] 1 Ephraim Chirwa is at the Department of Economics, Chancellor College, University of Malawi.