Low growth and huge current account deficits have characterised the Portuguese economy over the past decade. Easy credit in global markets, combined with the absence of incentives to limit loan-to-deposit ratios until recently, made it possible to finance internationally high levels of...

Housing markets have played a prominent role in macroeconomic developments over recent years. For a great part of the 2000s, buoyant housing markets have contributed to sustained economic activity in most OECD countries. But many markets overheated and the collapse of the US subprime mortgage...

This paper reviews key policy messages and warnings about developments in the run-up to the global financial and economic crisis that began in mid-2007 which are contained in the main publications of the IMF, the OECD and the BIS and discuss issues relevant to strengthening their surveillance...

The Indian financial system has changed considerably since the 1990s. Interest rates have been deregulated and new entrants allowed in the banking and the securities business. The Indian equity market has become world-class. New private banks have emerged that are more customer-oriented than the...

Slovenia is facing the legacy of a boom-bust cycle that has been compounded by weak corporate governance of state-owned banks. The levels of non-performing loans and capital adequacy ratios compare poorly in international perspective and may deteriorate further, which could require significant...

This paper is meant to provide a fresh retrospective on the events shaping the evolution of the financial crisis and economic recession since last year. While continuing and updating last year's analysis, the author offers an assessment of the three potential scenarios through which the crisis...

This paper is meant to provide a fresh retrospective on the events shaping the evolution of the financial crisis and economic recession since last year. While continuing and updating last year's analysis, the author offers an assessment of the three potential scenarios through which the crisis...

Les déséquilibres mondiaux sont au coeur des préoccupations de la présidence française du G20 et ont été l’objet du VIe colloque international de la Banque de France qui a rassemblé un panel exceptionnel d’intervenants. William R. White (OCDE) en a fait la synthèse.