Non-performing loans (NPLs) were found to respond to macroeconomic conditions, such as GDP growth, unemployment, and inflation; there are also strong feedback effects from the banking system to the real economy. This suggests that the high NPLs that many CESEE countries currently face adversely...

This technical note discusses the banking system structure, performance, and medium-term challenges for Switzerland. The note discusses that the Swiss banking sector has been undergoing a substantial consolidation over the last 10 years, but retains a rich collection of institutional types...

This technical note on the Republic of Poland underlies the country’s credit, growth, and financial stability. A broad-based statistical and econometric analysis of financial and household balance sheet data implies that exchange rate-related credit risk and liquidity risk are currently...

Various indicators place Cyprus’s banking system soundness ahead of emerging countries but behind advanced economies. This report discusses financial sector stability in Cyprus, using a combination of accounting-based and market-based indicators, and stress tests. Cypriot commercial banks...

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 analyses the prudential liquidity management framework, in particular the quantitative indicators employed by the central bank of Rwanda in response to the domestic liquidity crisis in 2008/09. It emphasises that the quantitative methods used in the monitoring and assessment of...

It is widely perceived that competition in the Indian banking sector has increased since the inception of the financial sector reforms in 1992. Using annual data on scheduled commercial banks for the period 1996-2004, the paper evaluates the validity of this claim in the Indian context. The...

This simulation-based paper investigates the impact of different methods of dynamic provisioning on bank soundness and shows that this increasingly popular macroprudential tool can smooth provisioning costs over the credit cycle and lower banks’ probability of default. In addition, the...

The Irish financial sector has continued to perform well since its participation in the Financial Sector Assessment Program (FSAP) in 2000. Although the outlook remains very strong for 2006–07, there are some macroeconomic risks that could have implications for the financial system asset...

Since the 2003 Financial Stability Assessment Program (FSAP) update, Ghana’s financial system has undergone rapid growth and structural transformation. The authorities have been implementing reforms to enhance the financial system’s resilience to shocks and its contribution to...