This technical note reviews the United States Federal Reserve’s oversight of payment, clearing, and settlement systems. As is typical for central banks, the Federal Reserve plays multiple and important roles in payment and settlement systems. The Federal Reserve also exercises supervisory...

This paper discusses key findings of the Detailed Assessment of Observance of Standards and Codes in Sweden. The assessment reveals that the laws and regulations on banking activities and their supervision are in place in Sweden. The composition of the Board of the Swedish Financial Supervisory...

This paper presents an update to the Financial System Stability Assessment on Sri Lanka. The paper discusses that despite a challenging macroeconomic environment characterized by a high fiscal deficit, inflationary pressures, and a widening current account, near-term risks to the financial...

This technical note on strategic issues in Development Bank (DB) reform for Mexico examines advances in the area of DB and funds in 2000–05. There have been significant but uneven changes in the institutional setting, instruments, transparency of subsidies, and performance behavior of DBs...

This paper discusses key findings of the Detailed Assessment of the Core Principles for Systemically Important Payment Systems for Denmark. The main counterparties for the assessment were Danmarks Nationalbank and the Danish Financial Supervisory Authority Finanstilsynet. The assessment...

Saudi Arabia is the world’s largest oil exporter and has employed its spare capacity to help stabilize the global oil market, providing important support to the global economy. The associated increase in oil revenues has resulted in sharply higher fiscal and current account surpluses and...

This paper discusses key findings of the Detailed Assessment of Observance of the National Securities Clearing Corporation’s (NSCC) Observance of the Committee on Payment and Settlement Systems/International Organization of Securities Commissions (CPSS–IOSCO) Recommendations for...

The 2011 Article IV Consultation reports that Panama’s economy has rebounded strongly from the 2009 slowdown, and is one of the fastest-growing in the region. Rapid growth and prudent fiscal policy have lowered public debt to less than 40 percent of GDP, and rating agencies have placed...

The staff report for the Second Review Under the Stand-By Arrangement and Requests for Waiver of Performance Criteria highlights Bulgaria’s economic growth, fiscal policy, and reforms. The economic program for 2006 relies on fiscal and credit restraint to rein in demand and strengthen the...

This staff report considers Georgia’s request for a Stand-By Arrangement and an arrangement under the Standby Credit Facility. Performance in 2011 has been stronger than originally envisaged, with growth of nearly 7 percent, inflation in the low single digits, public debt falling to 34...