In today's financial system, complex financial institutions are connected through an opaque network of financial exposures. These connections contribute to financial deepening and greater savings allocation efficiency, but are also unstable channels of contagion. Basel III and Solvency II should...

This technical note focuses on the Austrian banking system that exhibits considerable resilience against shocks determined by stress tests. The main sources of risk lie in the credit risk arising from exposures to Central, Eastern, and Southeastern Europe (CESE) and the Commonwealth of...

In South Africa, long-term insurers experienced some strains during the financial crisis, but there were no crisis-related failures. The capital markets suffered sharp declines but no systemic failures. The three standards assessments have found the regulatory system fundamentally sound. The...

This paper discusses the Financial System Stability Assessment for South Africa, and reviews the Report on the Observance of Standards and Codes on Securities Regulation. The assessment reveals that South Africa’s sophisticated financial system is fundamentally sound and has so far...

This paper presents the Slovak Republic’s Financial System Stability Assessment Update including Reports on the Observance of Standards and Codes on Banking Supervision and Insurance Regulation. Commercial banks are by far the dominant financial institutions, though nonbank financial...

The Belgian insurance industry was adversely affected by the global financial crisis and continued to confront challenges related to legacy assets and economic uncertainties in Europe. The Belgian authorities have made significant progress in updating the insurance regulatory regime and...

This report discusses key findings of the Financial Sector Stability Assessment on Canada. Canada’s financial system successfully navigated the global financial crisis, and stress tests suggest that major financial institutions would continue to be resilient to credit, liquidity, and...

The regulatory framework for the securities market of Canada exhibits high levels of implementation of the International Organization of Securities Commissions’ (IOSCO) Principles. The regulatory framework for most of the areas covered by securities regulation is robust. The general...

This report presents a Detailed Assessment of the Observance of the Insurance Core Principles Report on Jersey. Other than the international business, most cover is obtained from insurers based overseas by the large insurance broker community on the island. There is no ombudsman and no...

In recent years, the IMF has released a growing number of reports and other documents covering economic and financial developments and trends in member countries. Each report, prepared by a staff team after discussions with government officials, is published at the option of the member country.