In 1995, Moldova introduced free economic zone (FEZ) legislation with the aim of accelerating socioeconomic development by attracting domestic and foreign investment, promoting exports, and creating employment. Since then, seven free economic zones offering tax and customs benefits have been...

At the request of the Colombian authorities, the bank resolution regime was assessed against the Key Attributes of Effective Resolution Regimes for Financial Institutions (KAs). The assessment was conducted by staff of the Financial Stability Board (FSB), International Monetary Fund (IMF) and...

While the microfinance sector is extensively used in Mali (about 1 million members often based in rural areas), the sector has experienced a major crisis for over six years. The clean-up of the microfinance remains the most pressing priority for the Malian authorities and the adoption of the...

A country's legal and judicial environment can help or hinder access to credit. In addition to the banking law governing the organization of the sector, the operations of credit institutions are subject to several laws. Four components of Malian business law are particularly relevant in...

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...

The housing finance market in Mali remains small and under developed. Few banks currently offer a full mortgage product with Banque Malienne de Solidarite, Mali Housing Bank (BHM), Bank of Africa, and EcoBank being the main lenders although at minimal levels. The total annual housing need in...

Integrated Development Plans (IDPs) have been introduced in Romania as a prerequisite for accessing EU funds under the Regional Operational Program (ROP). The IDPs designed for growth poles represent a specific category of strategic planning documents as: 1) they need to be considered within the...

This report looks at the growth poles policy in Romania to determine ways to increase its effectiveness and efficiency for the next programming cycle (2014-2020). The growth poles policy in Romania has been initiated in 2008, as a means to support a balanced economic development of the country,...

The current report is part of the work on integrating poor areas and marginalized communities in Romania. Specifically, the Bank's technical assistance provided through this project focuses on three primary components: (1) a methodology for defining different types of urban disadvantaged...

For the 2014-2020 programming period, the Government of Romania (GoR) is considering a new approach proposed by the European Commission (EC) - Community-Led Local Development (CLLD). CLLD comes with a unique set of challenges. These include making sure that the process is truly inclusive,...