This paper considers how a comprehensive set of factors relates to financial sector performance in low-income countries (LICs). It finds that corruption and inflation are associated with a shallower and less efficient financial system, while legal origin and characteristics of the supervisory...

Portugal’s financial system is sound, well-managed and competitive, with shorter-term risks and vulnerabilities well contained, and with the system buttressed by a strong financial policy framework. Portuguese banks’ profitability, asset quality, and solvency have held up well in...

The key findings of Mauritius’s Financial System Stability Assessment update are discussed. The Mauritian financial system has been resilient to recent economic shocks, and banks have adequate capital buffers against a range of shocks to their credit portfolios and liquidity positions....

The impact of the financial crisis on Sweden’s economy and financial sector is analyzed in this study. From the financial stability analysis, banks are resilient to credit risk and could face difficulties with respect to liquidity risk. The frameworks of international reserve management...

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...

The increased presence of foreign banks in a country's domestic banking system necessitates the development of effective cross-border prudential supervision where the consolidated supervision is the essential element. This paper presents foreign bank supervision in terms of division of...

This report on the offshore financial center program contains technical advice and recommendations given by the staff team of the International Monetary Fund in response to Liechtenstein’s request for technical assistance. It provides detailed assessment of observance of the Basel Core...

This paper introduces a new database of financial reforms, covering 91 economies over 1973–2005. It describes the content of the database, the information sources utilized, and the coding rules used to create an index of financial reform. It also compares the database with other measures of...

The global financial crisis has forced government intervention in major financial institutions in Belgium. This 2008 Article IV Consultation discusses that the boom in energy and food prices in early 2008 caused inflation to spike to well above the euro area average. Executive Directors have...