This technical note describes the stress testing exercises carried out for the Danish commercial banking system and the insurance sector. The tests were conducted as part of the Financial Sector Assessment Program for Denmark and were developed in collaboration with the Danish Financial...

This technical note analyzes the competition in the banking sector in Denmark. It reveals that Denmark has a fairly competitive and efficient banking sector. Measured by various indicators, efficiency of banking intermediation has been improving in recent years. The banking sector has become...

This Selected Issues paper assesses The Gambia’s external competitiveness by reviewing developments in several indicators, ranging from exchange rate-based indices to survey-based assessments of the investment climate. The paper reviews the evolution of several multilateral and bilateral...

This Selected Issues paper attempts to analyze the end-point problem and improve the quality of potential GDP estimates for Germany. It projects that Germany’s potential GDP growth will slow over the coming decade, mainly because of declining labor input. The paper focuses on a long-term...

This Selected Issues paper analyzes the challenges that the Republic of Slovenia will face in the coming years. It examines the efficiency of the Slovene banking sector in the European Union context. The paper analyzes indicators of bank efficiency by comparing performance indicators for banks...

This technical note examines pensions with profit contracts in Denmark. The Danish life insurance and pension sector is sensitive to a range of risks on both the asset and liability side of the balance sheet. One of the principal vulnerabilities for the sector arises out of the requirement to...

The discussions centered on the needed steps to tighten monetary conditions, curb banks’ external borrowing, and reduce banks’ vulnerability to a sharp deterioration in the quality of loan portfolios. Strong expansion in oil and non-oil receipts in 2005 permitted continued rapid...

Sierra Leone’s economic activity is expanding, and the medium-term outlook is favorable. Real GDP growth picked up to about 5 percent in 2010–11, while the commencement of an iron ore megaproject in 2012 is expected to boost GDP and exports substantially. Fiscal tightening, through...

Paraguay weathered the global economic crisis well, supported by an appropriate policy response. The strong rebound of economic growth has given rise to overheating pressures. Policies need to adjust further to ensure a soft landing of the economy. The banking system remains sound, but there is...

In recent years, the IMF has released a growing number of reports and other documents covering economic and financial developments and trends in member countries. Each report, prepared by a staff team after discussions with government officials, is published at the option of the member country.