This paper discusses a request from the Republic of Latvia for a Stand-By Arrangement. The Latvian authorities are launching a decisive economic reform program and are seeking substantial international financial assistance to quell the crisis. With international reserves falling precipitously...

This article is a report of Spain’s progress in financial sector reforms. The key reforms in the financial sector have been either adopted or designed. The economy has risks at times as it takes up the challenges of correcting pre-crisis imbalances. The economy may face decline, but...

The macroeconomic goals of the first program year were largely met, although growth accelerated somewhat less than expected. Objectives for the second program year (FY2008) are to create conditions for higher growth and consolidate stabilization gains achieved so far. Monetary policy will focus...

The 2012 Article IV Consultation report on euro area policies highlights that investors are withholding funding from member states most in need, moving capital “north†and abroad to perceived safer assets. Executive Directors have noted that the euro area continues to face a number of...

Uruguay has experienced a remarkable recovery since the 2002 crisis, supported by sound policies and favorable external conditions. With the framework put in place in 2002, Uruguay abandoned an exchange rate peg in favor of a free float, adoped a monetary regime initially based on money targets,...

In just over a decade after independence, the three Baltic countries, Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania, have transformed themselves into fully functioning, small open-market economies that will be joining the European Union. Capital Markets and Financial Intermediation in The Baltics analyzes the...

This paper discusses Tajikistan’s Fifth Review Under the Poverty Reduction and Growth Facility (PRGF) and Request for Waiver of Performance Criterion. The macroeconomic outcome in the first quarter of 2005 was satisfactory, but the deteriorating external environment will make it harder to...

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...

Does the bank lending channel of monetary transmission work in Turkey? Using the May- June 2006 financial turbulence as an exogenous shock that prompted a significant tightening of monetary policy, this paper examines the loan supply response of Turkey's banks, depending on their balance sheet...

Drawing from a unique data set comprising 2,893 banks and 152 countries over the period 1987 to 2000, we test whether the adoption of the Basel Accord by Latin American and Caribbean countries was responsible for the serious slowdowns in credit growth experienced by these countries. We find...