This paper presents an assessment of the shift in market risks to the household sector, which results from changes in the behavior of financial institutions and from pension reform. It focuses on household saving and asset allocation behavior and analyzes how such behavior may be affected by...

This paper analyzes aspects of global asset allocation. It examines how different institutional investors follow vastly different procedures when allocating assets, reflecting various time horizons, liability structures, and “cultural backgrounds.” It aims to provide some insight into the...

This paper describes financial stability considerations related to trends in accounting standards. The paper highlights that in recent years, financial stability is generally viewed by authorities as having improved, in large part through more proactive risk management activities by banks and...

This report discusses developments in the international exchange rate and restrictive systems. The period covered by this report is 1986 and, for major developments, the first quarter of 1987. The report highlights that in 1986, protectionist pressures for trade restrictions in the industrial...

Published since 1950, this authoritative, annual reference is based upon a unique IMF database that tracks exchange and trade arrangements for all 186 IMF member countries, along with Hong Kong SAR, Aruba, and the Netherlands Antilles. The Annual Report on Exchange Arrangements and Exchange...

This paper analyzes developments in the hedge fund industry. The significant growth of hedge funds, driven by institutional investors, has heightened the desire by the official sector to better understand hedge funds and their activities. The paper examines how one may achieve a better...

This paper looks at the longer-term challenges pension funds face as population age and key issues to address to enhance their risk management practices and their role as long-term investors. The paper focuses primarily on Japan, the Netherlands, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, and the United...

This paper focuses on risk transfer and discusses the insurance sector, particularly life insurers. It expands on issues raised in previous Global Financial Stability Reports by asking whether financial stability has benefited or could benefit from insurers’ broader participation in credit...

This paper discusses developments in the international exchange rate and restrictive systems. Global output and trade recovered strongly in 1984, as inflation in the industrial countries remained relatively subdued and further progress in developing countries was made in tackling the problem of...

This report describes developments in the international exchange rate and restrictive systems. The period covered by this report is 1985 and, for major developments, the first quarter of 1986. The report highlights that a salient feature of exchange rate developments in 1985 was the weakening of...