Loan review is a process routinely used by banks to assess the current value of loan portfolios. Provisioning is a technique to translate loan review results into the balance sheet. It allows for ongoing valuation of loans. Both are core elements of credit risk management and important to...

This paper reviews findings of the Detailed Assessment of Italy’s Compliance with the Basel Core Principles for Effective Banking Supervision. The Italian banking system seems to exhibit a high degree of resilience to possible macroeconomic shocks, as supported by the evolution of some...

This paper presents key findings of the Financial System Stability Assessment for the Russian Federation. There are significant vulnerabilities and weaknesses in the financial sector, although given its small size, the macroeconomy would be relatively little affected by the immediate impact of...

Did the occurrence of systemic banking crises in the 1990s and 2000s significantly alter the behavior of banks in the Mercosur? The objective of this paper is to answer this question by analyzing changes in bank behavior after crises in the Mercosur region. To our knowledge, this is the first...

This paper builds a model of financial sector vulnerability and integrates it into a macroeconomic framework, typically used for monetary policy analysis. The main question to be answered with the integrated model is whether or not the central bank should include explicitly the financial...

Despite robust deposit growth, credit growth has been sluggish in the Philippines. We attribute this to legacy weaknesses in bank balance sheets, consumption-led economic growth, and relatively high net interest margins. Bank-level analysis suggests that interest margins in the Philippines rise...

This paper focuses on targeted detailed assessment of observance of the Basel Core Principles for effective banking supervision. The selection of the principles to be reassessed was made by the mission team based on an analysis of the risks and vulnerabilities of the Russian Federation. It was...

To help economic adjustment in the midst of the global economic crisis, an 18-month Stand-By Arrangement (SBA) was supported by IMF resources. The cause of Mongolia’s crisis in 2008–09 and its resolution and design and outcomes of the program are also discussed. The trigger for...

This staff report on United Kingdom’s (UK) 2013 Article IV Consultation highlights economic policies and development. The UK economy grew by about ¼ percent in 2012. Net trade reduced growth by 0.6 percentage points of GDP, the biggest drag since 2005, and well above staff projections....

This paper discusses key findings of the two-year Stand-By-Arrangement for Ukraine under the Emergency Financing Mechanism. Output growth is turning negative on the back of a large terms-of-trade shock and the ongoing credit crunch. The deterioration of the economic and financial situation is...