This paper on the Republic of Poland’s Financial System Stability Assessment highlights economic policies and development. Skillful policy management and sound fundamentals have allowed the economy to weather the global financial crisis, and the euro area turmoil. Risk drivers include...

The buffers built in the aftermath of Uruguay’s 2002 banking crisis have shielded the financial sector from the effects of the global financial turmoil. Growth has been robust and the outlook continues to be favorable. However, inflation persists but capital inflows have improved, and...

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 Selected Issues paper examines prospects for increasing growth and reducing poverty in the Solomon Islands. The paper highlights that agriculture constitutes the largest sector of the Solomon Islands economy, averaging about 20 percent of GDP throughout the 1990s. The Solomon Islands also...

This paper presents key findings of the Financial System Stability Assessment, including Reports on the Observance of Standards and Codes on Monetary and Financial Policy Transparency, Banking Supervision, and Payment Systems for the Kyrgyz Republic. Though the Kyrgyz Republic has made progress...

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...

This paper presents key findings of the Financial System Stability Assessment, including Reports on the Observance of Standards and Codes on Monetary and Financial Policy Transparency, Banking Supervision, and Payment Systems for the United Arab Emirates (UAE). The UAEs financial sector and...

Austria’s Financial System Stability Assessment highlights Reports on the Observance of Standards and Codes on banking supervision, securities regulation, and insurance regulation. The banking sector has weathered the recent economic slowdown well, and is generally sound and resilient....

This paper provides the first empirical analysis of the cross-country relationship between a direct measure of competitive conduct of financial institutions and banking system fragility. Using the Panzar and Rosse H-Statistic as a measure for competition in 38 countries during 1980-2003, we...