This paper discusses a request from the Guatemalan authorities for an 18-month Stand-By Arrangement (SBA) with total access of SDR 630.6 million (about US$951 million). Guatemala has a strong track record of macroeconomic stability. The economy is open and hence vulnerable to external shocks....

Italy’s 2008 Article IV Consultation describes the country's economic developments and policies. Output has been projected to contract by about ½ percent in 2008 and 1 percent in 2009, with risks tilted to the downside, linked to a further slowing of global growth and falling consumer...

This Financial Sector Stability Assessment on Nigeria discusses the macroeconomic performance and structure of the financial system. Although Nigerian economy experienced both domestic and external shocks in recent years, the economy continued to grow rapidly, achieving more than 7 percent...

The Compliance of the Basel Core Principles welcomes the assessors’ recognition of the overall quality and effectiveness of Cyprus’s banking regulatory and supervisory framework in place, and the resulting high degree of compliance with the Basel Core Principles. Regulation has to...

The Republic of Korea’s 2008 Article IV Consultation highlights that Korea’s business cycle is turning downward while inflation pressures have increased. Risks are mainly external and on the downside, but a volatile domestic political environment also clouds the outlook. Inflation...

The Detailed Assessment report on Mexico’s implementation of the International Organization of Securities Commissions Objectives and Principles of Securities Regulation is analyzed. The Mexican securities market is dominated by daily trading in short-term government debt securities,...

This report was prepared by the Legal Department of the International Monetary Fund (IMF). It provides a summary of the Antimony Laundering and Combating the Financing of Terrorism (AML/CFT) measures in place in St. Vincent and the Grenadines (SVG) and of the level of compliance with the FATF...

Kuwait’s economy continued to perform strongly in 2008, although signs of weakness emerged in the second half of the year. The authorities’ key challenge in the near term is to preserve financial stability and cushion the impact of the global slowdown. Executive Directors have...

This 2011 Article IV Consultation highlights that Macedonia is poised to achieve low but positive growth under the baseline scenario of a shallow recession in the euro area. Under a downside scenario, growth would be weaker, and external financing pressures could arise. In the near term, the...

This technical note examines the safety net, bank resolution, and crisis management framework in Spain. The financial safety net architecture for the banking sector comprises the Banco de España (BdE), the Fondo de Garantía de Depósitos (FGD), and the Fondo de Reestructuración Ordenada...