REQUEST FOR EXPRESSION OF INTEREST.
The Government of Mongolia has received a credit from the International Development Association toward the cost of the Strengthening Fiscal and Financial Stability Project (SFFSP), and it intends to improve fiscal policy and sustainability in a mineral-based economy, protect the poor and vulnerable, and restore confidence in the financial sector. The Ministry of Finance (MOF) will be responsible for the implementation of the project, including overall coordination, results monitoring.
The Mongolian financial system is dominated by the banking sector. Banks account for about 95 percent of total financial system assets. They are highly concentrated and competition remains limited, with the top five banks accounting for 67 percent of the total financial system assets.
Mongolia’s credit growth had rapidly accelerated in 2013–2014, reaching 54 percent at the end of 2013, fueled by substantial monetary easing by the Bank of Mongolia (BOM) through a series of quasi-fiscal policy lending programs. Fresh liquidity injected by the BOM reached MNT 3.5 trillion—18 percent of GDP—at its peak at the end of 2013. As the BOM began to gradually withdraw the monetary easing program and the economy gradually slowed from mid-2014, credit conditions have substantially tightened, with bank loan growth (year-on-year) dropping from 43 percent in June 2014 to less than 2 percent at the end of 2015. With tighter credit conditions and continued slowdown of the economy, the asset quality of banks has deteriorated significantly. Formally reported nonperforming loans reached 9.1 percent of total outstanding loans in November 2016, a substantial increase from 5 percent at the end of 2014. But NPL ratio slightly decreased to 8.5 percent at end of the 2017. The banking system is still vulnerable to substantial amount of loans concentrated in the riskier sectors—such as construction, mining, and real estate.
Capital markets remain in the early stages of development and the insurance market is small, with a penetration rate of about 0.64 percent of GDP. Progress in the development of Nonbank Financial Institutions (NBFIs) is slow, and continuous efforts are needed to build appropriate institutions, policies, and oversight arrangements.
The Financial Stability Council (FSC) was established in January 2010. According to the recent amendments to the Law on the BOM, main task of the FSC is to discuss the issues related to systemic risk identification, monitoring and mitigation at the meetings, and ensure coordination between member institutions’ activities for maintaining financial stability. The Secretariat of the FSC was established at the BOM with 5 staffs and is a permanent unit responsible for making risk assessment of the financial system, formulating macroprudential policy proposals intended to mitigate systemic risks and vulnerabilities, and preparing Mongolia’s semi-annual financial stability report.
Assessing financial stability is a complex process. The analytical framework to monitor financial stability is centered on the macroprudential surveillance and is complemented by surveillance of financial markets, analysis of macrofinancial linkages, and surveillance of macroeconomic conditions. The capacity of the Secretariat to perform financial stability assessment depends largely upon the quality and availability of the data, and development of the analytical framework. The analytical framework to monitor financial stability (systemic risk indicators, stress test, early warning system, etc.) is insufficiently developed. Thus, capacity of the Secretariat’s staff to develop analytical framework of financial stability assessment needs to be improved further.   

SCOPE OF THE ASSIGNMENT
The main objective of this assignment is to conduct an in-house training on financial stability analysis and modeling to strengthen capacity of the Secretariat’s staff and infrastructure of the Secretariat.
Duration of the contract is 3.5 months.
Key responsibilities of the National Consultant will include the following matters, but not limited to:
1. Defining training course needs based on the staff experience, and addressing areas to be improved;
2. Developing training plan based on the staff need, which will tentatively include:
• Financial programming for policy analysis;
• Macroprudential stress test;
• Balance sheet analysis (including analysis of corporate, household, financial institutions, public sector balance sheets health);
• Crisis management framework;
• Systemic risk modeling;
• Case studies on relevant financial stability issues;
3. Organizing training according to the developed plan;
4. Provide support to the Secretariat in developing and implementing financial programming and macroprudential stress test and crisis management framework for Mongolia.  

SHORTLISTING CRITERIA/CONSULTANT’S QUALIFICATIONS:
To be considered eligible candidates should have all the eligibility criteria listed below:
o Education: A suitable candidate should have a post-graduate degree in Economics, Finance, or a related field(s).
o Experience: A candidate should have at least 10 years of professional experience with 3 years of specific experience in banking/financial sectors or academia.
o Language skills:  Professional English and Mongolian in writing and speaking.
o Other skills:  Excellent interpersonal skills with the ability to function effectively and collaboratively in a team environment; proficiency in PC based applications such as Word, Excel and data management, and have excellent web research and navigation skills; knowledge of and experience i modeling (systemic risk, macroprudential policy and macroeconomic policies), and programming with E-Views, MATLAB is an advantage.

CONTRACT DURATION:
The consultant work is expected to commence in October, 2018 and the total duration of the assignment is 3.5 months.

If you possess the above qualifications, please submit following documents in person:
    Cover letter indicating why she/he considers her/himself suitable for the position,
    Detailed CV highlighting relevant skills/experience,
    Copy of diplomas or certificates and,
    2 reference letters from previous last two employers no later than 10:00 AM, October 25, 2018.

The submitted documents will not be returned to the applicants. Please be noted that incomplete applications would not be considered for evaluation. Only selected candidates will be contacted. Candidates can be interviewed. Detailed terms of reference can be requested from procurement@sffs.mn Contact address: Attn: Ms.L. Bayarmaa, Procurement Specialist, Strengthening Fiscal and Financial Stability Project
Room #204, Negdsen undestnii 8/2, 4th khoroo, Chingeltei District, Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia; Tel: 70120582

70120582