While public financial institutions (such as public development banks) are commonly associated with developing countries, in fact they are prevalent in the developed world as well. We study a sample of public financial institutions in industrialized countries and identify dominant trends in...

This paper discusses key findings of the assessment of Financial Sector Supervision and Regulation (FSSR) for Monaco. Since the 2002 Offshore Financial Center assessment, the Principality of Monaco has taken important steps to further strengthen an already comprehensive legal framework,...

Strong economic fundamentals, robust policy framework, and a sustained track record of excellent policy implementation have facilitated the maintenance of orderly economic conditions in Mexico even amidst the substantial external volatility during the global crisis. Executive Directors welcomed...

This paper discusses key findings of the Fifth Review Under the Stand-By Arrangement for Hungary. All end-December 2009 quantitative performance criteria, the continuous performance criterion on nonaccumulation of external arrears, and the indicative target on central government debt were met....

Portugal’s 2008 Article IV Consultation highlights that Portugal’s financial system remains sound and well supervised. Portugal has accumulated substantial macroeconomic imbalances, and the policy challenge is to smooth the adjustment, containing domestic demand while increasing...

The most salient trend in monetary policy over the past two decades has been increasing reliance on money market operations, which reflects the belief that allowing market forces to allocate financial resources brings about increased economic efficiency and growth. However, small economies and...

Singapore’s financial sector, which is dominated by the banking sector, remains robust despite a series of economic downturns and substantial asset price declines. Economic developments in the past few years have highlighted Singapore’s vulnerability to exogenous shocks, including...

Emerging European countries have made large strides in developing their local capital markets since the early-1990s. However, the rate of development has been widely disparate across countries and market segments, underpinned by the varying degrees of progress made in key areas such as...

This paper considers how a tax on financial transactions could be applied to three broad and partially overlapping categories of financial instruments: (1) exchange-traded instruments; (2) over-the-counter instruments; and, (3) foreign exchange instruments. For each category, the paper examines...