Luxembourg hosts a large international financial center that plays a pivotal role in its economy and in European financial markets. The crisis exposed significant vulnerabilities in Luxembourg’s financial system, owing to large cross-border exposures to foreign parent banks. The...

This technical note presents Cyprus’s Financial Sector Assessment Program Update. The authority has worked to enhance the quality of supervision, inter alia in the organizational area, upgrading the number of staff and staff expertise, and planning to intensify onsite supervision. A...

Domestic demand is expected to remain the engine of growth in France, with net exports playing a minor role in the near term. Risks to the outlook are tilted to the downside. Boosting potential growth requires a comprehensive strategy. The consolidation targets set out in France’s...

This paper discusses key findings of the Detailed Assessment of the Observance of the Insurance Core Principles for Denmark. Key recommendations arising from the assessment cover two main issues. First is the fact that the Danish Financial Supervisory Authority Finanstilsynet bases its system to...

This technical note examines Cyprus’s factual update on the Basel Core Principles for Effective Banking Supervision for Cyprus. The 2006 directive on corporate governance provides that each commercial credit institution should have a robust internal governance framework. Although the...

This technical note for the Republic of Poland on competition and performance explains the Polish pension system and domestic capital market. Competition policies may need to be reviewed, in particular the combination of measures to maintain small pension funds operating while imposing strict...

This paper discusses the findings of Detailed Assessment of International Association of Insurance Supervisors (IAIS) insurance core principles on Italy. Regulation and supervision of the insurance industry in Italy is the responsibility of the newly established Institution for the Supervision...

A detailed assessment of Israel’s compliance with the Basel Core Principles for effective banking supervision is presented. The Bachar reform that has been started in mid-2005 forced banks to divest most noncommercial banking activities, such as mutual funds, insurance, pension, and...

This paper presents an update to the Financial System Stability Assessment (FSAP) on the Republic of Belarus. The paper reveals that the Belarusian financial sector has so far weathered the ongoing turmoil well, reflecting its relatively closed nature and the dominant role of state-owned banks....

This report is a detailed assessment of Brazil’s compliance with the Basel Core Principles. Brazil has a well-defined banking supervision process that grants the Banco Central do Brasil (BCB) broad enforcement powers to carry out corrective actions. The licensing process has been...