In recent years, the IMF has released a growing number of reports and other documents covering economic and financial developments and trends in member countries. Each report, prepared by a staff team after discussions with government officials, is published at the option of the member country.

The insurance industry in Australia has weathered the global financial crisis well and was resilient to the catastrophic events in 2010/11. The insurance industry is mature but relatively small compared to the banking sector. Assets held by insurers represented only about 8 percent of the...

This paper presents Detailed Assessment of the United States’s observance of Basel Core Principles for Effective Banking Supervision. The U.S. financial system is large and highly diversified. At the end-2007, total U.S. financial assets amounted to almost four and a half times the size...

This paper discusses key findings of the assessment of India’s compliance with the International Association of Insurance Supervisors Insurance Core Principles (ICP). Indian Regulatory and Development Authority (IRDA) has so far decided that India is not yet ready for a full transition to...

The design of the German banking supervision framework is structurally sound, with a robust legislative and operational framework that largely complies with the Basel Core Principles for effective banking supervision (BCP). Various improvements to the German supervisory framework have been...

This paper discusses key findings of the Detailed Assessment of Observance of Insurance Core Principles for France. The assessment reveals that insurance regulation and supervision are still predominantly carried out using a Solvency I approach. The insurance sector remained resilient through...

This paper presents the report on observance of standards and codes (ROSC) for the financial sector prepared in connection with the financial sector assessment program (FSAP). The FSAP covers the Basel Core Principles for effective banking, the International Association of Insurance Supervisors...

This paper examines Gibraltar’s Detailed Assessment Report of the Observance of the Insurance Core Principles. Foreign establishments operating in Gibraltar are all European Union (EU)-based and therefore covered by EU directives, including the directive on freedom of establishment. A key...

Significant legislative changes and regulatory developments have taken place in the Netherland’s insurance sector. The initial Financial Sector Assessment Program (FSAP) and the current assessment are benchmarked against the Insurance Core Principles (ICPs) issued in 2003. Progress has...

Insurance regulation in South Africa is sound and takes a thorough approach to regulation, recognizes the scale and development of the market, and the need for effective market conduct as prudential regulation. There are particular challenges in improving standards of market conduct, in both...