The typical portrait of monetary policy has the banks and the money supply being manipulated through changes in bank reserves. However, with only a small portion of bank deposits now subject to reserve requirements, an alternative explanation of how monetary policy influences banks is needed....

We assess the extent to which loan losses affect banks’ provision of credit to companies and households and examine how feedback from losses to a reduction in credit is affected by the monetary policy stance. Using a unique cross-country dataset of more than 600 banks from 32 countries, we...

A detailed assessment report on the observance of China’s compliance of Basel Core Principles for effective banking supervision is presented. Regulation and supervision of China’s banking system has made impressive progress in the past few years, led by an activist, forward-looking...

This paper discusses key findings of the detailed assessment of observance of financial sector standards and codes in Switzerland. Switzerland has a relatively unique banking sector, with a high market concentration by the two largest domestic banks. The overall assessment of the peer-review...

Loan review is a process routinely used by banks to assess the current value of loan portfolios. Provisioning is a technique to translate loan review results into the balance sheet. It allows for ongoing valuation of loans. Both are core elements of credit risk management and important to...

Drawing from a unique data set comprising 2,893 banks and 152 countries over the period 1987 to 2000, we test whether the adoption of the Basel Accord by Latin American and Caribbean countries was responsible for the serious slowdowns in credit growth experienced by these countries. We find...

This paper seeks to draw lessons from the IMF’s experience in handling financial crises around the globe over the past ten years that are relevant to the challenges faced by countries in Latin America, especially in the wake of the recent crisis in Argentina. Experience suggests that...

This paper presents key findings of the Detailed Assessment of the Observance of Standards and Codes in the Financial Sector of Bermuda. The small number of licensed deposit-taking institutions in Bermuda are part of the broader financial intermediation sector. Typically, some 50 percent to 60...

There is a widespread view that bank capital requirements should be loosened during recessions and tightened during expansions to avoid excessive credit and output swings. This view is based on a partial analysis that ignores the effects of capital requirement policies on the saving decisions of...