This paper reports on Bangladesh’s Financial System Stability Assessment. Considerable progress has been made in strengthening the resilience of the country's financial sector. Total assets of the banking sector have increased twofold since 2003, and credit to the private sector has risen...

This paper-consisting of a regional study and seven country studies-reviews the state of domestic public debt markets in Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, and Panama as at end-2005. Although they account for the lion's share of capital markets, regional...

This paper estimates bond-by-bond "haircuts"-realized investor losses-in recent debt restructurings in Russia, Ukraine, Pakistan, Ecuador, Argentina, and Uruguay. We consider both external and domestic retructurings. Haircuts are computed as the percentage difference between the present values...

How to entrench hard-won gains, increase resilience to shocks, and improve growth performance to reduce poverty? As Central America moves forward in regaining macroeconomic stability, these are the challenges. This study analyzes Central America’s real, fiscal, monetary, and financial...

The main risk to the program is that inflationary pressures would reemerge owing to improper management of the scaling up of aid and fiscal spending, or a protracted crisis in Kenya. The structural agenda focuses on maintaining the momentum in the previously initiated areas, particularly in the...

Afghanistan has made substantial progress toward macroeconomic stability, but structural reforms need to be accelerated. The uncertainty affecting the fiscal outlook warrants a prudent expenditure policy. Monetary policy has been instrumental in reducing inflation and safeguarding external...

In this study, owing to the global financial crisis, a Stand-By Arrangement (SBA) for the Dominican Republic was approved. The aim is to limit the procyclical policies in the short-term and discussions focused on policies necessary to ensure that the end-2011 and 2011 targets are observed....

Seychelles's economy has recovered strongly from the debt crisis and global recession, owing to high foreign direct investment and a rebound in tourism. Inflation remained near zero, and the country continued to rebuild its international reserves and reduce public debt. In 2011, the policy mix...

The Kyrgyz authorities have maintained macroeconomic discipline in recent years, despite a challenging political environment. This 2006 Article IV Consultation highlights that the economic activity is rebounding in 2006, with year-over-year real GDP growth of 3.2 percent through September, after...

This paper investigates how recent changes in market interest rates have affected risk-adjusted returns. Returns are adjusted for duration, a measure of interest rate risk. Prior to the 2007 - 2008 rate decrease, one-year Treasuries offered the best risk/return tradeoff. As a result of the rate...