This engagement note provides a snapshot of financial development in the countries of the GulfCooperation Council (GCC), Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE), and identifies key areas of the financial sector reform agenda where the World Bank Group (WBG)...

Banking financial intermediation relative to the economy is low and declining. The depthof the Romanian banking sector is lagging both in terms of deposit and loan penetration. Cross-cutting factors such as poverty, rurality and informality form a set of constraints that still persist affecting...

Iraq's economy continued its recovery after the sharp, pandemic-induced recession in 2020 but growth constraints in the oil sector have reemerged. After moderating in 2022, consumer price inflation ticked up in early 2023, fueled by the depreciation of the Iraqi dinar in the parallel market....

In less than fifty years, Brazil evolved from a predominantly rural society and economy to a highly urbanized country in which 85 percent of its people now live in urban areas and more than 90 percent of the country’s GDP is generated in the cities. This rapid urbanization process was...

In less than fifty years, Brazil evolved from a predominantly rural society and economy to a highly urbanized country in which 85 percent of its people now live in urban areas and more than 90 percent of the country’s GDP is generated in the cities. This rapid urbanization process was...

The Leadership Training Toolkit for State-Owned Enterprises ('SOE Leadership Toolkit') was developed jointly by the World Bank and IFC (World Bank Group) to support countries' efforts to build capacity of SOE boards and senior managers. It also endeavors to strengthen state ownership and...

This Technical Note assesses the corporate governance of state-owned enterprises (SOEs) in Azerbaijan with a view to supporting the government's efforts to bolster economic development. Mutually reinforcing recommendations are closely linked and aim to increase accountability across the whole...

This report assesses Pakistan's corporate governance policy framework. It highlights recent improvements in corporate governance regulation, makes policy recommendations, and provides investors with a benchmark against which to measure corporate governance in Pakistan. The report focuses on the...

As one of the largest pension funds in Thailand, government pension fund (GPF) is fully aware of its importance as a universal owner and of its role supporting sustainable global values within the context of environmental, social, and governance (ESG). In 2018, GPF publicly announced its...

This Review was prepared at the request of the Bulgaria National Bank (BNB). It presents the setting and the circumstances for the development of governance policies and practices in the Bulgarian banking system and reviews the effect of existing governance policy and practices on the oversight...