This Technical Note discusses results of stress testing of the banking sector in Poland. The Polish banking system is well capitalized and liquid, as confirmed by stress tests results. Polish banks are, in aggregate, resilient even under severe adverse scenarios. Some small banks could fail to...

The main challenges for this review were to further redress long-running problems in the energy sector and to balance fiscal policy requirements for development spending with macroeconomic stability. The financial position of the state-owned electricity company (KESH) deteriorated significantly...

This paper discusses key findings of the Second Review and Financing Assurances Review Under the Stand-By Arrangement for Latvia. The sharp economic downturn is starting to bottom out, although recovery has not yet begun. The authorities have implemented the June 2009 supplementary budget, and...

This 2008 Article IV Consultation highlights that over the last decade, Albania’s macroeconomic performance has generally been strong and per capita GDP in U.S. dollar terms more than doubled. Strong fiscal policy, largely based on major improvements in tax administration, lowered public...

This paper reports on Bangladesh’s Financial System Stability Assessment. Considerable progress has been made in strengthening the resilience of the country's financial sector. Total assets of the banking sector have increased twofold since 2003, and credit to the private sector has risen...

This paper reviews Latvia’s efforts to manage the increase in debt distress resulting from the unwinding of the 2000-07 credit boom and spillovers from the global financial crisis. The authorities have designed a strategy that strengthens incentives for marked-based debt resolution by...

This paper finds optimal fiscal rule parameter values and measures the effects of imposing fiscal rules using a default model calibrated to an economy that in the absence of a fiscal rule pays a significant sovereign default premium. The paper also studies the case in which the government...