This paper presents key findings of the Third Review under the Policy Support Instrument (PSI) in Rwanda. Program performance was broadly satisfactory. All end-June quantitative assessment criteria were met. Structural benchmarks were partially met as the pace of implementation of structural...

The authorities’ program for 2003–05, supported by the previous Stand-By Arrangement (SBA), successfully stabilized the economy despite difficult conditions. A new economic program for 2006–08 is needed to consolidate macroeconomic stability, address remaining...

This paper assesses the First Review Under the Staff-Monitored Program (SMP) for Afghanistan. The authorities have met all of the indicative quantitative targets set out under the SMP and all the structural benchmarks, except the benchmark on licensing of commercial banks, which was only partly...

This Selected Issues paper analyzes recent developments in the financial system of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). It describes the monetary developments in 2003–05 and reform of the financial system. The paper examines the impact of monetary and exchange rate policies on...

In recent years a number of countries have undertaken far-reaching reforms of their financial sectors. Generally speaking, financial sector reforms aim at achieving greater flexibility of interest rates, an enhanced role for market forces in credit allocation, increased independence for the...

This paper highlights that central banks from Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Mexico, and Peru (the LA5 countries) reaped the benefits of what they sowed in successfully weathering the global crisis. The adoption of far-reaching institutional, policy, and operational reforms during the last two decades...

This Selected Issues paper and Statistical Appendix on Angola underlie monetary policy framework. Angola has adopted an anti-inflation policy that has led to a sharp decline in inflation. To institute a monetary policy framework, a nominal anchor or constraint on the value of domestic currency...

This paper discusses key findings of the Fifth Review Under the Poverty Reduction and Growth Facility for Georgia. Despite economic sanctions imposed by Russia in 2006, Georgia’s economic growth continues to be strong, and inflation has declined. Growth is expected to reach 9 percent in...

This Selected Issues paper on the Russian Federation underlies inflation persistence and evolution in response to structural shocks. Inflation in Russia has been characterized by a considerable degree of persistence. An explicit inflation-targeting framework may help reduce firms’...

This note provides a set of high-level recommendations that can guide national regulatory and supervisory responses to the COVID-19 (coronavirus) pandemic and offers an overview of measures taken across jurisdictions to date. The banking sector plays a critical role in mitigating the...