The recent financial crisis has forced a rethink of banking regulation and supervision and the role of financial innovation. This paper develops a model where prudent banks may signal their type through high capital ratios. Capital regulation may ensure separation in equilibrium, but deposit...

The insurance sector is underdeveloped and has been inadequately supervised to date, as the regulator lacks the requisite independence, skills, and resources. The three public pension systems, which cover less than 10 percent of the active population, appear to be fiscally unsustainable. The...

Strong economic fundamentals helped Panama contain the adverse impact of the global economic downturn and financial turmoil. The 2009 Article IV Consultation highlights that real GDP of Panama in 2008 grew by 9.2 percent. Panama’s large banking system has weathered the global financial...

This paper discusses the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia’s Second Review Under the Stand-By Arrangement and Request for Waiver of Performance Criteria and Rephasing of the Program. The 2007 fiscal deficit target increased modestly to 1 percent of GDP. Taxes were cut and budget...

The IMF’s Executive Board completed the first review under the Extended Credit Facility (ECF) arrangement in June 2010 and decided that the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) had reached the completion point under the Enhanced Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) Initiative. In 2010, an...