This Selected Issues paper assesses risks in the Panamanian banking sector. The analysis suggests that Panama's banking system seems able to withstand reasonably severe shocks, while contagion risks stem primarily from foreign banks. Ample starting capital buffers and bank profitability prevent...

This paper discusses Burkina Faso's Third Review Under the Extended Credit Facility (ECF) Arrangement. Policies and reform implementation under the ECF-supported program have been satisfactory. All end-June 2019 quantitative performance criteria and indicative targets were met as well as all,...

This paper discusses Mexico's Review Under the Flexible Credit Line (FCL) Arrangement. Mexico has navigated successfully a complex external environment, characterized by falling commodity prices, a sharp appreciation of the U.S. dollar, and heightened volatility in international financial...

This paper discusses Sierra Leone's Third and Fourth Reviews Under the Extended Credit Facility Arrangement and Financing Assurances Review, Requests for Waivers for Nonobservance of Performance Criteria (PC) and Modification of PC. Program implementation has been good, notwithstanding the...

This 2015 Article IV Consultation highlights that Afghanistan remains a poor fragile state that is far from self-reliance. Significant fiscal and banking vulnerabilities emerged in 2014. Domestic revenue collection fell below its 2013 level because of lower growth, declining imports, and lower...

This Selected Issues paper reviews the evolution of inequality in Ethiopia and discusses the role of various macroeconomic policies as well as structural factors. With a Gini coefficient of 30, Ethiopia remains among the most egalitarian countries in the world. The most vulnerable households...

This 2015 Article IV Consultation highlights that decline in oil prices has adversely affected Kuwait's fiscal and current account balances and slowed growth in 2014-15. Real non-oil GDP growth is projected to slow in 2015 and 2016, and pick up to 4 percent in the medium term, supported by...

This Selected Issues paper analyzes energy price reform in Kuwait. It emphasizes that Kuwait should take advantage of current low global energy prices to strengthen efforts to reform domestic energy prices. In the longer term, this would benefit growth by increasing efficiency in the economy and...

This 2015 Article IV Consultation highlights that Cameroon's economy has shown resilience in the face of the twin shocks of the oil price slump and heightened security threats, with the robust growth of 2014 continuing into 2015. Growth is broad-based and projected to reach 5.9 percent in 2015,...

This Selected Issues paper examines recent performance and reform agenda for Cameroon's state-owned enterprises (SOEs). Cameroon's SOEs are important providers of formal employment and have a large weight in the economy. The profitability and financial autonomy of SOEs have deteriorated in...