This technical note focuses on selected issues on the credit union (CU) sector in the Czech Republic. The business models of CUs in the Czech Republic are fundamentally different from traditional CUs that are typically non-for-profit cooperatives operated for the benefit of a defined set of...

The Greek economy showed strength supported by solid gains in employment, substantial real wage increases, low interest rates, and rapid credit expansion. Executive Directors appreciated the performance of the banking system and welcomed the Bank of Greece’s efforts to strengthen...

This paper presents a technical note on Mexico’s Observance of the Core Principles for Systemically Important Payment Systems. The Bank of Mexico has issued regulation to support check truncation, the use of electronic signatures, and regulation that endorses the development and...

In this study, the economic developments and policy responses of Trinidad and Tobago after the crisis is reviewed. Policy recommendations are used to strengthen the legal and regulatory framework. According to the IMF’s financial system stability assessment (FSSA), there were critical...

This paper presents a Financial System Stability Assessment Update, including Reports on the Observance of Standards and Codes (ROSC) on the Securities Regulation, Insolvency and Creditor Rights Systems, and Payment Systems in Colombia. Overall, the financial sector appears relatively stable and...

This paper examines the behavior of bank soundness indicators during episodes of brisk loan growth, using bank-level data for central and eastern Europe and controlling for the feedback effect of credit growth on bank soundness. No evidence is found that rapid loan expansion has weakened banks...

We present a framework to derive the probability of default implied by the price of equity options. The framework does not require any strong statistical assumption, and provide results that are informative on the expected developments of balance sheet variables, such as assets, equity and...

The paper presents a supervisory framework that addresses the vulnerabilities of partially dollarized banking systems. The tendency to underprice systemic liquidity risk and currency-induced credit risk creates vulnerabilities that need supervisory responses. The framework seeks to induce agents...

Drawing from a unique data set comprising 2,893 banks and 152 countries over the period 1987 to 2000, we test whether the adoption of the Basel Accord by Latin American and Caribbean countries was responsible for the serious slowdowns in credit growth experienced by these countries. We find...