This paper examines Albania’s 2002 Article IV Consultation, First Review Under the Three-Year Arrangement Under the Poverty Reduction and Growth Facility (PRGF), and Requests for Modification and Waiver of Performance Criterion. Economic growth appears to have fallen below a 7 percent...

This paper examines Peru’s Request for a Stand-By Arrangement (SBA). Performance under the 2002–03 SBA was satisfactory. This performance provides a solid basis for continuing with policies aimed at maintaining macroeconomic stability. The authorities are requesting a 26-month SBA...

This paper evaluates Mali’s Fifth Review Under the Poverty Reduction and Growth Facility. The implementation of the program was satisfactory in the first nine months of 2002. All the quantitative performance criteria, benchmarks, and financial performance indicators were observed. The...

International financial assistance (loans and grants) can potentially raise recipients' welfare in two ways, by affecting a direct resource transfer and by facilitating efficiency-enhancing reforms. In practice, barriers to reform limit the potential of assistance to deliver these two dividends....

The recent declines in tightening of lending standards suggest that business lending may be poised for a rebound.

This Economic Letter examines the rise in commercial real estate (CRE) lending concentration at commercial banks and the performance of CRE loans since the early 1990s. The analysis shows that while concentration in CRE lending has increased substantially at many banks, for those banks with CRE...

Managing the credit risk inherent to a corporate credit line is similar to that of a term loan, but with one key difference. For both instruments, the bank should know the borrower's probability of default (PD) and the facility's loss given default (LGD). However, since a credit line allows the...