Denise Dias

Senior Financial Sector Specialist

Denise Dias works primarily for the Policy Pillar at CGAP. She's specialized in prudential and market conduct financial regulation and supervision with focus on digital finance and payments. She has collaborated with CGAP since 2007, both as a consultant and as a staff member, including as manager for Latin America and the Caribbean.

Denise has over 16 years of experience with policy, regulation and supervision, and has acted as a bank examiner in the Central Bank of Brazil (prudential and market conduct). Prior, she founded and managed an internet marketing business in Brazil, and audited government programs for the Brazilian Ministry of Finance. She also works with other organizations such as the World Bank, GIZ, and Bankable Frontier, and frequently acts as a Program Leader for the Toronto Centre.

Denise holds an MBA in international banking and finance, an MBA in financial sector economics, and a bachelor’s degree in business. She speaks Portuguese and Spanish.

By Denise Dias

Research

Bank Agents: Risk Management, Mitigation, and Supervision

This Focus Note discusses the activities (and related risks) in which bank agents may engage, management and mitigation of agent-related risks, approaches to licensing and supervision of bank agent businesses, and possible corrective measures supervisors may take.
Blog

A Bold Move Toward Simplifying AML/CFT: Lessons from Mexico

Regulators around the world today are beginning to realize that the chances of expanding access through branchless banking can be very limited without reducing the account-opening requirements through agents and mobile phones. The challenge is to strike the right balance between reducing account-opening requirements while maintaining basic controls for AML/CFT.
Blog

Basel Blesses Microfinance

Financial inclusion is moving beyond national boundaries to the international stage and the standard-setting bodies.
Research

Protecting Branchless Banking Consumers

Transformational branchless banking heightens the consumer-related concerns of regulators and supervisors because it combines the use of agents and technology-enabled devices to serve large numbers of less educated and inexperienced customers.
Research

Financial Inclusion and Consumer Protection in Peru

CGAP partnered with the Superintendence of Banks, Insurance and AFPs of Peru in late 2008, with the purpose of enhancing the understanding of the issues and trends in consumer relations when financial services are delivered through branchless banking, particularly through agents, which are used in ever increasing scale in Peru.