The assessment concluded that the financial sector in Malawi was relatively underdeveloped and that there was need to institute measures to deepen and broaden the sector so that it should contribute more to economic growth of the country. The report also noted the financial sector to be bank-centric with very low penetration of non-bank financial products.
In view of these findings, the report identified the following as challenges and requirements for the RBM and Government relating to the financial system: •  The need to introduce measures to enhance penetration of financial services in the country particularly non-bank financial products;  •  The need to introduce measures to increase overall mobilisation of savings particularly contractual savings which are long term in nature and can therefore be channelled into productive investments;  •  The need to find ways to increase the use of markets relative to financial institutions;  •  The need to find means of increasing the diversity of financial products available for diversification of risks.