Singapore’s financial sector, which is dominated by the banking sector, remains robust despite a series of economic downturns and substantial asset price declines. Economic developments in the past few years have highlighted Singapore’s vulnerability to exogenous shocks, including...

This paper reviews Financial Sector Regulation and Supervision for Turks and Caicos Islands (TCI). The TCI has a structure for financial supervision that encompasses banking, insurance, mutual funds, investment brokers, trusts, trustees, companies’ registration, and company service...

This paper reviews financial sector regulation and supervision in the Cook Islands (CI). The CI has taken a number of measures to strengthen its financial sector regulation. New legislation was passed for the regulation of banking activity, and a Financial Supervisory Commission (FSC) was...

This paper presents an assessment of the supervision and regulation of Samoa’s financial sector. The size of the offshore business remains very small compared with major offshore centers. The registration of International Business Companies represents the largest offshore business for...

This 2004 Article IV Consultation highlights that there are signs that the economy of Switzerland has started to grow again on the back of stronger exports and domestic investment and supported by accommodative monetary and fiscal policies. Unemployment has risen, but at 4 percent is low by...

This paper highlights 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 Securities Regulation for Chile. The assessment reveals the Chilean banking system...

The volume of credit extended by a bank can be an informative signal of its abilities in loan selection and management. It is shown that, under asymmetric information, banks may therefore rationally lend more than they would otherwise in order to demonstrate their quality, thus negatively...