Written by IMF's Legal Department, this book outlines the key issues involved in designing and implementing orderly and effective insolvency procedures, which play a critical role in fostering growth and competitiveness and may also assist in the prevention and resolution of financial crises....

This paper outlines a procedure for calculating the cash value of “menu items” in debt restructuring proposals, including par and non-par exchanges, with enhancements consisting of either interest or principal guarantees. It is argued that under certain plausible assumptions interest and...

In most macroeconomic models, the substitutability between domestic and foreign goods is calibrated using aggregated data. This imposes homogeneous elasticities across goods, and the calibration is only valid under this assumption. If elasticities are heterogeneous, the aggregate...

The condition of banking systems in developing countries strongly influences the design and effectiveness of economic adjustment policies. Bank portfolio weakness can limit the flexibility of interest rate policy, the scope of financial reforms, and the conduct of monetary and fiscal policy....

Australia’s four largest banks can be considered domestically systemic. They make up the lion’s share of the banking system, use similar business models, and are interconnected. The top four banks are relatively similar in terms of systemic importance, partly reflecting the authorities’...

The Thai financial system faced a crisis in 1983. Weak managerial practices and an inadequate legal and regulatory framework were associated with a gradual deterioration in many financial institutions’ balance sheets; these weaknesses were brought to the fore by a sharp economic downturn in...

This paper compares experiences with banking crises in seven countries in order to analyze the factors governing the crises and the effectiveness of measures to deal with the problems. The linkages between deregulation of the financial sector, and financial crises are examined. The portfolio...

This Financial System Stability Assessment on the United Arab Emirates (UAE) examines macroeconomic and financial sector developments. The banking sector as a whole shows comfortable levels of capitalization and profits, having benefited from the rapid expansion of the economy and a steady...