"A well developed financial system enhances competition in the industrial sector by allowing easier entry. The impact varies across industries, however. For some, small changes in financial development quickly induce entry and dissipate incumbents' rents, generating strong incentives to oppose...

Cover -- Contents -- Foreword -- Acknowledgments -- Abbreviations and Glossary -- Overview -- 1 Conceptual Framework, Stylized Facts, and the Role of the Government -- 2 The Use of Long-Term Finance by Firms and Households: Determinants and Impact -- 3 The Use of Markets for Long-Term Finance --...

There has been significant development of Mali's banking sector in recent years, but it remains shallow, and access to banking services is limited. With the opening of a new bank in 2014, there are now 14 commercial banks operating in Mali. There has been a positive evolution of the banking...

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...

The objective of the reforms is to improve the capacity of financial institutions to serve the needs of economic agents and the population at large. In Cote d'Ivoire, downsizing, reorganization and (as required) privatization and liquidation of key banks and insurance companies, in the early...

The Bank of Lithuania (BoL), the Central Bank, was established in 1990. BoL has the exclusive right to grant and revoke licenses to local and foreign banks and to supervise their activities. Private commercial banking boomed from 1991 to 1994 while bank regulation was lax. In late 1995, a bank...