The objective of this paper is to shed light on current trends and policy challenges in the financing of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) by banks in Colombia. The paper is motivated by the well-documented financing gap for SMEs, whose causes are complex and multi-dimensional. Based on...

The objective of this paper is to shed light on current trends and policy challenges in the financing of small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) by banks in Colombia. The paper is motivated by the well-documented financing gap for SMEs, whose causes are complex and multi-dimensional. Based on...

The main objectives of this paper are to describe the evolution and current challenges of public debt management and debt market development in Cyprus in order to identify relevant policy options for the authorities. Two separate stages can be conceptually distinguished: the period of financial...

This paper describes the presence of financial conglomerates and assesses the extent to which the risks they introduce to the Chilean financial system are mitigated by existing oversight arrangements (and at what cost). In particular, the paper questions whether the current silo-based...

Market risk is an increasingly important issue for banks and so for bank regulation. Stephanou compares three approaches to setting risk-based capital adequacy standards: The building-block approach, the internal models approach, and the precommitment approach. Regulators have traditionally used...

The objective of this paper is to analyze the industry structure of banking services in Brazil in order to shed light on financial performance and its drivers at a disaggregated level. The study illustrates how differences across market segments - which tend to be averaged out in aggregate...

The objective of this paper is to describe the evolution, composition, and determinants of financing to the nonfinancial private sector in Mexico between 2000 and 2005. Supported by the macroeconomic environment and financial system reforms, total financing to the private sector (particularly...

The authors review the international framework governing trade in financial services, describe the treatment of financial services in recent trade agreements involving Latin America and Caribbean countries, and analyze the liberalization commitments made in three selected country case studies -...

The objective of this policy paper is to identify and propose high-level legal and regulatory reforms to Colombia's financial system structure that would enhance efficiency and/or mitigate risks. Five specific and four general reforms are proposed and evaluated based on their compatibility with...

The objective of this paper is to provide an overview of the changes in the calculation of minimum regulatory capital requirements for credit risk that have been drafted by the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision (Basel II). Even though the revised credit capital rules represent a dramatic...