The economic shock of the coronavirus outbreak has an unprecedented impact on public finances. Governments are implementing massive fiscal packages including both budgetary and nonbudgetary measures to fight the pandemic while receipts are sharply down. Communicating the financial consequences...

Financial consumer protection sets clear rules of conduct for financial firms regarding their retail customers. It aims to ensure that consumers: 1) receive information to allow them to make informed decisions, 2) are not subject to unfair or deceptive practices, and 3) have access to recourse...

The Mongolian economy has grown very rapidly following the discovery of significant mineral deposits. Large investments in the mining sector have led to increased capital inflows, resulting in cheap external funding for banks and rapid credit expansion. Loans to households increased at the...

The consumer financial services sector in South Africa is among the most sophisticated in the world, yet nearly 40 percent of the population, especially blacks, use no formal financial services. The now ubiquitous mobile phones are dramatically changing the landscape of digital financial...

From 2004 to 2007, lending to households in Kazakhstan expanded rapidly at 116 percent average annual growth rate and reached 22 percent of GDP, with loans in foreign currency reaching 7 percent of GDP. The share of real estate lending doubled between 2004 and 2007, amounting to 30 percent of...

From 2004 to 2007, lending to households in Kazakhstan expanded rapidly at 116 percent average annual growth rate and reached 22 percent of GDP, with loans in foreign currency reaching 7 percent of GDP. The share of real estate lending doubled between 2004 and 2007, amounting to 30 percent of...

Over the last decade, consumer credit in the Russian Federation has expanded from almost nothing to 9.2 percent of GDP in 2008, at 84 percent average annual growth in 2003-2008 year for five years. Yet, the increases have been uneven throughout the Russian population: more than 40 percent are...

The consumer financial services sector in South Africa is among the most sophisticated in the world, yet nearly 40 percent of the population, especially blacks, use no formal financial services. The now ubiquitous mobile phones are dramatically changing the landscape of digital financial...

This review of consumer protection and financial literacy (CPFL) in the private pensions and securities sectors in Rwanda complements the 2013 review of Rwanda's banking, microfinance, and insurance sectors. As noted previously, the institutional elements of the formal financial sector in Rwanda...

Eight years of strong economic growth in Ukraine in 2000-2008, at an average of seven percent per year, ended with a sharp 15 percent decline in 2009. The national currency plummeted and the banking sector nearly collapsed, with non-performing loans increasing from 2.3 percent to 11.2 percent of...