"The authors look at the depth of the financial sector in Bogota in terms of the "financial exclusion" of those, particularly poorer citizens, who operate without accounts in formal financial institutions-the unbanked. They begin with a review of the overall decline in financial intermediation...

"This paper reviews the evidence on the importance of finance for economic well-being, provides data on the degree of use of basic financial services by households and firms across a sample of countries, assesses the desirability of more universal access, and overviews the macroeconomic, legal,...

Sri Lanka has made significant achievements in the provision of financial services in some areas, but there are still critical market segments that remain underserved, especially for small and rural enterprises. Low-income households could also benefit from access to a more diverse set of...

The State plays an important role in the provision of financial services in Colombia through state-owned financial institutions (SOFIs), interest rate controls, mandatory investment requirements and credit subsidies. State-owned financial institutions (SOFIs) hold about 12 percent of banking...

State-owned financial institutions fall into three main groups: commercial banks, hybrid banks, and development institutions. The larger state-owned commercial banks/ groups include Sberbank, the VTB Bank group, and Gazprombank. Like private commercial banks, these institutions do not have a...

This study seeks to evaluate present levels of access to financial services, and government policies adopted which impact upon access. Based on these findings, it explores options for increased future access to financial services in Brazil. The first section highlights the core conclusions to...

This technical note the Malawi 2007 Financial Sector Assessment Program (FSAP) reviews the current challenges of increasing access to financial services in Malawi. After a cursory assessment of the state of the financial sector in chapter one, it summarizes the key challenges of rural financial...

The development of a far reaching correspondent banking network is one of the key factors behind Brazil's success story in financial inclusion. Between 2005 and 2011, the number of correspondents approximately doubled to more than 160,000. The Central Bank encouraged financial institutions to...

In 2007-08 Da Afghanistan Bank (DAB), the central bank of Afghanistan, was in the process of reforming the financial sector. While some considerable advances have been made with respect to basic legislation, some central banking reform, the introduction of new currency, and the beginnings of a...