Home foreclosure rates have risen in the United States to the highest levels since the Great Depression. With house prices falling, lending standards tightening, unemployment rising, and interest rate resets in the pipeline, foreclosures are projected to go even higher. While most of the time a...

This paper considers the case for mortgage covered bonds as an alternative to the originate-to-distribute mortgage funding model. It argues that the economic incentives provided to market participants under the covered bonds model are less susceptible to moral hazard even while retaining the key...

This paper gauges if, and how, institutional arrangements are correlated with the use of macroprudential policy instruments. Using data from 39 countries, the paper evaluates policy response time in various types of institutional arrangements for macroprudential policy and finds that the...

The Second Review Under the Stand-By Arrangement with St. Kitts and Nevis highlights that economic activity continued to contract in 2011 while the current account balance improved and banks remained sound. All quantitative performance criteria for end-December 2011 were met, and the structural...

This 2007 Article IV Consultation highlights that macroeconomic outcomes for Antigua and Barbuda have strengthened significantly in recent years. Real GDP growth averaged 5 percent during 2003–05, and is estimated to have reached 12 percent in 2006. There has been progress in implementing...

The staff report for The Bahamas’s 2009 Article IV Consultation examines economic developments and policies. The financial sector, including the offshore sector, accounts for about 20 percent of economic activity. Exchange controls are maintained on capital transactions, narrowing the...

This paper discusses key findings of the Financial System Stability Assessment on the Basel Core Principles for Effective Banking Supervision, the Committee for Payment and Settlement Systems (CPSS) Core Principles for Systemically Important Payment Systems, and IMF Monetary and Financial Policy...

The Eastern Caribbean Currency Union (ECCU) has made significant progress in improving the quality and quantity of the macroeconomic statistics it produces and disseminates to the public. The Selected Issues Paper discusses prospects and challenges for credit unions in the ECCU. It reviews the...

Policy implementation has improved since the completion point. Recent economic performance has been encouraging, but sustaining it will require an acceleration of reforms by the government. Rwanda’s medium-term program aligned with the Poverty Reduction Strategy Program priorities...

This paper presents detailed assessment of the Czech Republic’s compliance with Basel Core Principles (BCPs) for effective banking supervision. Many earlier weaknesses have been addressed, either through domestic measures or by implementing European Union-wide rules and regulations. An...