The ultimate mission of Convergence is to stimulate the build-up of analytical capabilities in financial economics, banking and finance and legal and regulatory matters within the civil society of its countries of operations and to foster an open, collaborative and responsible dialogue between regulatory authorities and market participants.
Under a “BOT” concept (Build-Operate-Transfer), the Convergence Program helps authorities and market participants set up and operate a partnership (SPI Platform), whose governance, organization and “Better Regulation” analytical methods enable the pursuit of a broad-based modernization program largely executed by local public-private teams.
It is intended that local stakeholders take operational and financial responsibility for the SPI Platform after a two-year Convergence Program involvement 1/.
1/For instance, in Romania the local community took responsibility for the SPI Platform in March 2008, 18 months after the beginning of its activities. In Albania, where SPI Platform activities started in May 2008, the appointment of the SPI Director for Financial Modernization Program as Secretary General of the Association of Albanian Banks effective as of 1 October 2009 marked a major shift in responsibilities, together with simultaneous preparation by local stakeholders of a proposal to continue the activities as a “Bank-Enterprise Observatory” with financial support from an EU regional cooperation programme.