MONROVIA – Liberia’s monetary credibility goes on trial before the Senate as Euphemia Gbadee Swen-Monmia seeks confirmation as Deputy Governor for Economic Policy. Her pitch to the Senate Committee on Banking and Currency is unusual. She asks to be judged on results, not résumé alone. The Central Bank of Liberia (CBL) nominee claims a hand in pushing inflation to single digits and building reserves near US$1 billion. Yet her own testimony exposes the paradox at the heart of the economy. Banks are flush with liquidity, but bad loans still choke credit to Liberian businesses. Her pledge to guard CBL independence while coordinating with fiscal authorities will be the real test before lawmakers. THE ANALYST reports.
Euphemia Gbadee Swen-Monmia, President Joseph Nyuma Boakai’s nominee for Deputy Governor for Economic Policy of the Central Bank of Liberia (CBL), has asked the Senate Committee on Banking and Currency to weigh her nomination not only on her qualifications but on the results she has delivered over 16 years at the Bank.
Appearing before the committee, chaired by Senator Joseph K. Jallah with Senator Amara Konneh as Vice-Chair, she pledged to serve with integrity, professionalism, diligence and dedication if confirmed.
Swen-Monmia, a Liberian from Sinoe County who was born in Maryland County and raised in Montserrado County, told lawmakers she would work closely with the Executive Governor, the Board, Management and the Bank’s staff to advance the CBL’s mandate in support of President Boakai’s ARREST Agenda.
She described the shared goal as building “a stable, resilient, and prosperous Liberia.”
The nominee expressed gratitude to God for His grace and guidance and to President Boakai for the confidence reposed in her through the nomination, saying she was deeply humbled and honored by the trust.
She also commended the committee and the Senate for carrying out their constitutional responsibility with diligence and dedication, and welcomed the opportunity to discuss her qualifications, record of service and vision for advancing Liberia’s economic stability and prosperity.
She paid special tribute to her late father, Emmanuel S. Swen, and her mother, Catherine B. Swen, whose values of faith, integrity, excellence and hard work, she said, shaped the person she is today. Swen-Monmia also thanked her husband, Atty. Josiah Maxwell Monmia, Sr., their children, her siblings, extended family and friends for their selfless support, patience, prayers, encouragement and sacrifices, particularly during periods of study and service abroad.
Beyond family, the nominee extended appreciation to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for the opportunity to serve and learn within what she called a world-class institution. That experience, she said, broadened her global perspective, strengthened her expertise in economic and monetary policy, deepened her understanding of the challenges facing developing and advanced economies, and proved invaluable in preparing her for the assignment.
She owed, she said, a profound debt of gratitude to the CBL, her professional home for the past 16 years. She thanked past and present Boards and Management of the Bank, including the current Board and Management under the leadership of Executive Governor Henry F. Saamoi, as well as colleagues across the Bank, especially in the Financial Markets Department, and the teachers, mentors and supervisors whose guidance shaped her professional journey and commitment to public service.
From Trainee to Acting Deputy
Swen-Monmia told the committee she joined the CBL in 2010 as a Management Trainee in the Regulation and Supervision Department. Through hard work, continuous learning and commitment to excellence, she said, she progressed through positions of increasing responsibility, including Bank Examiner, Senior Bank Examiner, Registrar of the Collateral Registry and Assistant Director.
In 2017, upon attaining her master’s degree at the University of Reading, she was entrusted with joining the newly established Financial Markets Department to support its development and operationalization. She subsequently rose to Deputy Director and ultimately Director of the department, which, she noted, today plays a central role in the implementation of monetary policy, liquidity management and the development of Liberia’s financial markets.
According to the nominee, these postings gave her a broad and practical understanding of the Bank’s core functions, including banking supervision, financial regulation, monetary policy operations, reserve management, financial market development, payment systems and consumer protection. She said they also allowed her to contribute directly to some of the institution’s most important reforms and policy initiatives while developing the leadership, technical expertise and strategic perspective needed to serve at the highest levels of the Central Bank.
Between 2023 and 2024, Swen-Monmia worked at the IMF in Washington, D.C., as a Macroeconomist in the African Department. She said the experience broadened her understanding of regional and global macroeconomic policy challenges, strengthened her analytical and policy capabilities, and enhanced her ability to assess economic risks and evaluate policy options from a wider perspective in support of macroeconomic stability.
Upon her return to Liberia, she resumed her duties as Director of Financial Markets and subsequently assumed the responsibilities of Acting Deputy Governor for Economic Policy. In these capacities, she said, she has helped lead policy discussions on key macroeconomic issues and coordinated efforts to strengthen monetary policy formulation and implementation, improve liquidity management and reduce non-performing loans (NPLs) in the financial sector.
She currently chairs the Pre-Monetary Policy Committee and the interagency Liquidity Working Group. She also serves as a member of the Monetary Policy Committee and leads the technical National Non-Performing Loan Resolution team.
Academically, Swen-Monmia holds a Master of Science degree in Development Finance from the University of Reading in the United Kingdom and a bachelor’s degree in Public Administration from the African Methodist Episcopal University (AMEU) in Liberia.
She also holds a Graduate Certificate in Capital Markets from George Washington University in the United States, specialized training in Monetary Policy and Central Banking Operations from Hitotsubashi University in Japan through the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), and executive education in Leading Economic Growth from the Harvard Kennedy School of Harvard University.
She told lawmakers she has also completed a host of professional trainings in monetary policy, reserves management, financial markets and banking supervision, among others.
Together, she argued, these experiences have equipped her with the technical competence, institutional knowledge, leadership experience and international exposure to serve effectively, and have deepened her commitment to policies that promote monetary and financial stability, support sustainable economic growth and advance the economic well-being of the Liberian people.
Stable Economy, Choked Credit
Before outlining her record, the nominee described the office she seeks as central to the CBL’s mandate of price stability, financial sector resilience and sustainable economic growth.
The role, she explained, encompasses the formulation and implementation of monetary policy, prudent management of foreign exchange reserves, promotion of financial sector stability and market development, provision of macroeconomic and fiscal policy advice, and economic research to support evidence-based decision-making and engagement with international financial institutions.
While those responsibilities are highly technical, Swen-Monmia stressed that their impact is felt daily by Liberian households and businesses.
The purchasing power of the Liberian dollar, inflation, access to credit, financial sector stability and overall economic confidence, she said, are all influenced by the effectiveness of central bank policies and operations, and through sound monetary management, effective oversight and credible policy communication, the Bank contributes to macroeconomic stability, private sector development and inclusive growth.
Liberia’s economy, she told the committee, is considerably more stable today than it was just a few years ago. She cited real GDP growth projected at approximately 5.5 percent in 2026, supported by continued expansion in mining, manufacturing, construction and services, and inflation that has moderated to 4.6 percent.
According to the nominee, gross international reserves have increased to nearly US$1 billion (L$182.36 billion), providing about 3.3 months of import cover by August 2026. During the same period, she said, the Liberian dollar appreciated by nearly eight percent, helping to strengthen confidence in the economy and preserve the purchasing power of Liberian households.
Swen-Monmia described the financial sector as broadly resilient, noting that the banking system’s capital adequacy ratio stands at approximately 39.6 percent, significantly above regulatory requirements, and that liquidity conditions remain strong. She cautioned, however, that despite ample liquidity in the banking system, elevated NPLs continue to constrain credit expansion to the private sector.
The NPL ratio, she said, declined from approximately 19.1 percent in 2024 to 12.9 percent in 2025. Resolving the challenge, she argued, remains essential to unlocking greater access to finance, supporting entrepreneurship and accelerating private-sector-led growth.
She also pointed to a considerably stronger external sector, with export earnings rising significantly on higher receipts from iron ore, gold and rubber. Remittance inflows, she noted, continue to underscore the important contribution of the Liberian diaspora to economic activity and household welfare.
Still, the nominee warned against complacency. Liberia, she said, remains vulnerable to external shocks, commodity price volatility, climate-related disruptions and structural constraints that continue to limit private-sector growth and job creation, and the challenge before policymakers is to transform stability into sustainable and inclusive growth that creates opportunities for all Liberians.
It was within this economic and institutional context, Swen-Monmia said, that she has discharged her responsibilities over the past 16 years, working alongside colleagues and successive leadership teams on policy, operational and institutional reforms aimed at strengthening monetary policy effectiveness, financial sector resilience, reserve management and overall macroeconomic stability. She then asked that her nomination be considered not only on the basis of her qualifications but also on the results achieved throughout her career.
Record of Reforms Claimed
On monetary policy modernization and price stability, Swen-Monmia said she helped lead the modernization of Liberia’s monetary policy framework through the introduction and strengthening of market-based instruments, including open market operations and CBL bills.
These reforms, she stated, improved liquidity management, strengthened policy transmission and supported the reduction of inflation from elevated levels to single digits, thereby helping to strengthen macroeconomic stability.
At the IMF’s African Department, she said, she contributed to policy advice on monetary policy, fiscal sustainability, inflation targeting, foreign exchange intervention, central bank governance and financial sector reform. She also supported Article IV Consultations, Post-Financing Assessments and macroeconomic policy analysis, work she said strengthened her ability to adapt global best practices to Liberia’s economic context.
On foreign exchange reserves and external resilience, the nominee said she led reforms that strengthened reserve management practices and improved the performance of the Bank’s reserve portfolio.
These efforts, she argued, contributed to substantial improvements in reserve accumulation and income generation while enhancing the country’s ability to withstand external shocks and maintain confidence in the Liberian dollar.
She further claimed an important role in advancing strategic initiatives to strengthen the Bank’s policy and reserve management framework. These include the ongoing development of a reserve diversification strategy involving gold holdings and the proposed Foreign Exchange Management Framework.
On expanding access to finance, Swen-Monmia said she designed and led the implementation of Liberia’s Collateral Registry with support from the International Finance Corporation (IFC).
The reform, she said, has enabled more than 1,800 borrowers to access financing by allowing movable assets to be used as collateral, expanding opportunities for businesses and individuals who previously faced difficulties obtaining credit.
On financial stability, market development and regional engagement, the nominee said that throughout her career in supervision and financial markets she has worked to identify risks early, improve financial sector resilience, strengthen government securities markets and support effective monetary-fiscal coordination. These efforts, she said, have helped reinforce confidence in Liberia’s financial system and improve the foundation for sustainable economic growth.
She added that she led and supported Liberia’s engagement in regional financial sector initiatives, including domestic debt market development and capital market integration projects within the West African Monetary Zone (WAMZ). Those experiences, she said, strengthened her understanding of the institutional arrangements necessary for preserving stability, promoting market development and supporting economic transformation.
Five Priorities If Confirmed
Swen-Monmia told lawmakers that the Office of Deputy Governor for Economic Policy exists to help safeguard macroeconomic stability and preserve confidence in Liberia’s financial system.
While its responsibilities are technical, she said, its success is ultimately measured by outcomes that matter to ordinary Liberians: stable prices, confidence in the Liberian dollar, a resilient financial sector, greater access to finance, and an environment conducive to investment, job creation and inclusive economic growth.
Achieving those outcomes, she said, requires more than sound policy formulation. It requires a high-performing Economic Policy Directorate able to rigorously assess the effectiveness and real-world impact of policy decisions, and if confirmed, she pledged to build and sustain such a Directorate, one that delivers innovative, data-driven and evidence-based analysis to inform decision-making and national coordination and to strengthen policy outcomes.
Guided by that vision, the nominee said she would work closely with the Executive Governor, the Board of Governors, Management and other stakeholders to advance five strategic priorities.
The first is preserving price stability, which she called the Central Bank’s most important contribution to economic prosperity, through policies that keep inflation low and stable, strengthen monetary policy transmission and protect the purchasing power of Liberian households.
Her second priority is safeguarding international reserves and external stability through prudent reserve management, stronger foreign exchange governance and initiatives that improve Liberia’s resilience to external economic shocks.
Third, she pledged to deepen financial markets and mobilize savings by strengthening government securities markets, supporting pension sector development and promoting financial markets capable of mobilizing long-term capital for public and private sector investment and economic development.
Fourth, the nominee promised to strengthen monetary-fiscal coordination while preserving Central Bank independence, arguing that effective coordination between fiscal and monetary authorities is essential for macroeconomic stability, while the Bank’s independence and policy credibility remain indispensable.
Her fifth priority is promoting responsible access to credit and financial inclusion, reducing barriers to finance particularly for small businesses and underserved populations, while ensuring that inclusion advances alongside sound risk management and financial stability.
Independence and Accountability Pledged
On governance, Swen-Monmia pledged to discharge her duties with professionalism, integrity and fidelity to the law, and to uphold the Central Bank of Liberia Act and all other applicable laws of the Republic.
She promised to safeguard monetary discipline, preserve the distinction between monetary policy and fiscal operations, and support decision-making grounded in sound analysis and evidence.
She committed to remaining fully accountable to the Senate, appearing when called upon and engaging constructively with legislative oversight, while maintaining the highest ethical standards, promoting transparency and supporting strong institutional governance.
Above all, she said, she would provide objective and professional advice guided by the Bank’s mandate and the long-term interests of Liberia and its people.
Closing her statement, the nominee described her professional journey from Management Trainee to Acting Deputy Governor as one shaped by service, continuous learning, integrity and a determination to deliver results.
The office of Deputy Governor for Economic Policy, she said, carries significant responsibility and demands sound judgment, technical expertise, strategic thinking and a steadfast focus on the public good.
She declared herself prepared to bring those qualities to the role. She pledged to work with the Executive Governor, the Board of Governors, the staff of the CBL, the Legislature and development partners to strengthen monetary policy, preserve stability, enhance financial sector resilience and foster an environment that supports investment, job creation and inclusive economic growth.
With great humility and a clear sense of responsibility, Swen-Monmia formally requested the committee’s favorable consideration of her nomination and its recommendation to the full Senate for her confirmation.
She thanked the senators for their time and consideration, welcomed their questions, and pledged that, if confirmed, she would serve with humility, integrity, professionalism and diligence, guided by the mandate of the Central Bank and the best interests of the Liberian people and the Republic.