A decade after the State Street decision, more than 1,000 business method patents are granted each year. Yet only one in ten are obtained by a financial institution. Most business method patents are also software patents. ; Have these patents increased innovation in financial services? To...

This Asia Focus reviews the status of the implementation of International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) in various Asian economies, discusses the benefits of using one set of internationally accepted accounting principles, and provides some background information on the ongoing reviews of...

Using an econometric approach on panel data collected from 53 microfinance institutions(MFIs) in Uganda over a period of six years (annual), this study has identified thedeterminants of sustainability and outreach of MFIs. In addition, the study has also usedsurvey data from 31 non-Bank of...

Most financial institutions have not been successful at internationalisation, with some being remarkably unsuccessful. There are fewer occurrences of cross-border mergers and acquisitions than in most other industries. Foreign financial institutions tend to underperform relative to domestic...

Different financial systems vary in the way they contribute to the process of resource allocation in the economy and in the risk-sharing pattern that they bring about. It would therefore be plausible to expect different financial systems to differ in the way they affect real economic activity. I...