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Business and Economics > Banks and Banking

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Cover IMF Working Papers
Managing Foreign Exchange Rate Risk: Capacity Development for Public Debt Managers in Emerging Market and Low-Income Countries
Thordur Jonasson
,
Sheheryar Malik
,
Kay Chung
, and
Michael G. Papaioannou
This paper presents some sound practices for foreign-currency risk management in developing countries and outlines instruments for managing sovereign debt portfolio currency exposures. Adoption of a debt management strategy with well-defined targets for foreign exchange risk is a critical element of public debt risk management. To this end, public debt managers often need to face with complex strategic and operational matters related to public debt hedging practices, including the use of derivatives. In this context, we highlight the main institutional challenges in the management of foreign exchange risk in sovereign debt portfolios and discuss the overall implementation of a foreign exchange risk-management strategy.
Keywords:
exchange rate risk risk management; debt portfolio; public debt manager; currency exposure; risk-management strategy; Government debt management; Debt management; Currencies; Exchange rate risk; Foreign currency debt; Asia and Pacific; Sub-Saharan Africa; Middle East; North Africa; Central Asia; Africa
Cover IMF Working Papers
E-Money and Monetary Policy Transmission
Zixuan Huang
,
Amina Lahreche
,
Mika Saito
, and
Ursula Wiriadinata
E-money development has important yet theoretically ambiguous consequences for monetary policy transmission, because nonbank deposit-taking e-money issuers (EMIs) (e.g., mobile network operators) can either complement or substitute banks. Case studies of e-money regulations point to complementarity of EMIs with banks, implying that the development of e-money could deepen financial intermediation and strengthen monetary policy transmission. The issue is further explored with panel data, on both monthly (covering 21 countries) and annual (covering 47 countries) frequencies, over 2001 to 2019. We use a two-way fixed effect estimator to estimate the causal effects of e-money development on monetary policy transmission. We find that e-money development has accompanied stronger monetary policy transmission (measured by the responsiveness of interest rates to the policy rate), growth in bank deposits and credit, and efficiency gains in financial intermediation (measured by the lending-to-deposit rate spread). Evidence is more pronounced in countries where e-money development takes off in a context of limited financial inclusion. This paper highlights the potential benefits of e-money development in strengthening monetary policy transmission, especially in countries with limited financial inclusion.
Keywords:
Monetary policy transmission; banks; nonbank financial institutions; e-money; panel data; e-money development; e-money issuer; e-money intensity; E-Money intensity; Financial inclusion; Central bank policy rate; Deposit rates; Bank credit; Sub-Saharan Africa; Africa
Cover IMF Staff Country Reports
Rwanda: Selected Issues
International Monetary Fund. African Dept.
This Selected Issues paper revisits Rwanda’s options to create fiscal space to meet long-term development challenges. It examines strategies and options for a credible and comprehensive domestic revenue mobilization. The paper analyzes the driving factors of past reform successes and use an original dataset to highlight the benefits of implementing comprehensive tax reforms over selective reforms. The paper concludes that selective measures tend to yield protracted loss of revenue while measures implemented comprehensively lead to increases in revenue in the medium term. This stresses the need for an integrated approach to fiscal policy reform coordination to maximize long-term revenue benefits. For Rwanda, a comprehensive strategy for increasing tax revenues by adjusting rates, broadening the domestic tax base, improving tax compliance, and curbing tax evasion is the way forward. The strategy should shift higher tax burden from low-income households to higher income wealth cohorts with the view to advancing distributional fairness against growing inequality.
Keywords:
climate agenda; NDC financing; monetary policy transmission; financing option; implementation framework; Climate finance; Natural disasters; Central bank policy rate; Value-added tax; Global; Africa; Sub-Saharan Africa
Cover Policy Papers
Interim Review of Access Limits Under the Poverty Reduction and Growth Trust and Initial Considerations for Access Limits under the General Resource Account
International Monetary Fund. Strategy, Policy, & Review Department
The interim review on PRGT access limits follows the call from the Executive Board in March 2023 and confirmed by the IMFC in October 2023. Low-income countries (LICs) face high economic uncertainty and pressures, while grappling with limited policy space and a funding squeeze. In March 2023, access limits under the General Resources Account (GRA) were temporarily increased for 12 months to give space for countries to face such economic pressures. The IMF Executive Board emphasized the importance of the alignment of the Poverty Reduction and Growth Trust (PRGT) access limits with those of the GRA that was achieved in 2021. The Board also agreed that, once substantial progress with PRGT fundraising toward the SDR 2.3 billion first-stage target for subsidy resources agreed in 2021 has been made—with total pledges of SDR 2 billion or more—access limits under the PRGT would be reviewed at an ad hoc interim review. This target has now been reached, paving the way for the review, also called for by the IMFC during the Annual Meetings in October 2023, in a context where the LICs’ economic challenges have further increased, including due to the risk of additional negative spillovers on the global economy stemming from the current geopolitical tensions and conflicts.
Keywords:
Poverty Reduction and Growth Trust; PRGT; low-income countries; LICs; General Resources Account (GRA); PRGT resource; PRGT financing strategy; PRGT lending; PRGT access norm; PRGT commitment; Concessional external borrowing; Debt sustainability; Poverty reduction strategy; Balance of payments need; Credit risk; Global
Cover IMF Working Papers
Beyond the COVID-19 Crisis: A Framework for Sustainable Government-To-Person Mobile Money Transfers
Delphine Prady
,
Hervé Tourpe
,
Sonja Davidovic
, and
Soheib Nunhuck
During the 2020 pandemic, the majority of countries have provided income support to households at an unprecedented speed and scale. Social distancing measures and the large penetration of mobile phones in emerging markets and developing economies (EMDEs) have encouraged government-to-person (G2P) transfers through mobile platforms. This paper presents a comprehensive framework for sustainable money solutions in support of social assistance. The framework consists of eight building blocks that may help policymakers i) take stock and assess emergency fixes taken to scale up mobile money in a crisis context and ii) develop sustainable long-term solutions for mobile G2P transfers.
Keywords:
WP; government; Novissi G2P; country; firm; government assistance program; money; G2P; mobile money; bank account; electronic money; cash transfer; low income; financial service; central bank; Mobile banking; Currencies; Fiscal accounting and reporting; Sub-Saharan Africa; South Asia; Africa; East Asia; Asia and Pacific; Philippines government; CICO network; State transfer; government ecosystem; government assistance; government cash transfer; total cost of ownership; COVID-19
Cover Policy Papers
The Central Bank Transparency Code
International Monetary Fund. Monetary and Capital Markets Department
The paper reports to the Executive Board on its decision of April 29, 2019, to prepare an IMF Central Bank Transparency Code (CBT), which is linked to the 2017 Review of the Standards and Codes Initiative (RSCI), for a revision and update of the 1999 Monetary and Financial Policies Transparency Code (MFPT). Directors asked that the CBT should remove the overlap on financial policies covered by other international standards, expand the transparency standards to broader set of activities undertaken by many central banks since the 2008 financial crisis, and reorient the transparency standards to facilitate risk-based assessments to support policy effectiveness and address macroeconomic risks.
Keywords:
PP; central bank; CBT; CBT principle; monetary policy; IMF surveillance
Cover IMF Staff Country Reports
Ghana: Selected Issues Paper
International Monetary Fund. African Dept.
This Selected Issues paper discusses growth strategy for Ghana. Ghana has achieved impressive development gains over the last decades, with rising incomes, lower poverty, and better health, education, and gender outcomes. However, growth has recently become less inclusive, with high inequality and slower poverty reduction. In order to address these challenges, the authorities are pursuing a “Ghana beyond Aid” development strategy centered around agricultural modernization and export-led industrialization. Accelerating productivity growth calls for fostering competition, improving the business environment, strengthening human capital, taking advantage of growing regional markets and industrial policies that prioritize sectors that can export and innovate and where Ghana could achieve economies of scale. Consistent and predictable government policies can help increase long-term investment and improve public spending effectiveness. A key lesson from growth accelerations in other countries is that it is crucial to achieve economies of scale. In most cases, rapid economic growth required achieving export success in specific sectors.
Keywords:
ISCR; CR; Ghana; asset; bank; industry; liability; per capita income; public sector; bank intermediation cost; structural change; gas assets; banking system; extractive industry; processing industries in Ghana; value chain; exposure to the commodity cycle; government balance sheet; bank profitability; Financial statements; Public sector; Commercial banks; Business enterprises; Nonperforming loans; Sub-Saharan Africa; Africa
Cover IMF Staff Country Reports
Cote d'Ivoire: Sixth Reviews Under the Arrangement Under the Extended Credit Facility and the Extended Arrangement Under the Extended Fund Facility, and Request for Extension and Augmentation of Access; Press Release; Staff Report; Staff Supplement; and Statement by the Executive Director for the Cote d’Ivoire
International Monetary Fund. African Dept.
This paper discusses Cote d’Ivoire’s Sixth Review Under the Arrangement of the Extended Credit Facility and the Extended Arrangement Under the Extended Fund Facility, and Request for Extension and Augmentation of Access. Côte d’Ivoire has been pursuing a development-oriented policy agenda, and the IMF-supported program in place since 2016 has supported that focus, paving the way for the private sector to become the main driver of growth. The performance under the program has been strong. The medium-term growth prospects remain robust, predicated on continuing prudent macroeconomic policy, furthering financial sector reforms and sustaining structural reforms to bolster private sector-led inclusive growth. Côte d’Ivoire’s reform efforts have resulted in improvements in its business climate in recent years. It will be imperative to continue the reform agenda to further stimulate private sector activity and support inclusive growth, including by improving the energy sector, human capital and financial inclusion, accelerating digitalization, enhancing trade connectivity and governance, expanding the coverage of social safety nets, and reinforcing the statistical apparatus to help better inform economic policy.
Keywords:
ISCR; CR; summary debt service table; debt; authority; reform agenda; summary table; Ivorian authority; EFF arrangement; Debt sustainability; Stress testing; Global; West Africa
Cover IMF Staff Country Reports
Togo: Selected Issues
International Monetary Fund. African Dept.
Selected Issues
Keywords:
ISCR; CR; Togo; outlay; authority; education outlay; frontier
Cover IMF Staff Country Reports
Togo: Selected Issues
International Monetary Fund. African Dept.
This Selected Issues paper investigates state-owned financial institutions’ (SOFIs) performance in developing economies. It focuses on Sub-Saharan Africa, zooming in on the Togolese experience with SOFIs and privatization, at a time when the Togolese government has decided to further disengage from the financial sector. Typically set up with a public interest and financial inclusion mandate, SOFIs tend to weaken financial stability and fiscal discipline in developing economies, especially if they are not typically regulated and supervised on the same basis as other banks. Togo’s and cross-country experiences suggest that performance improves more after privatization when the government fully relinquishes control, when banks are privatized to strategic investors rather than through share issues, and when bidding is open to all, including foreign banks. The success of privatization also hinges on the business environment for competition, governance, and entry, on banks’ valuation and how policy concerns are dealt with, as well as on owner’s prudential review quality.
Keywords:
ISCR; CR; Togo; outlay; authority; education outlay; frontier; social spending; spending leakage; ECF program; education expenditures in Togo; health performance; WAEMU country; frontier analysis; Privatization; State-owned banks; Corruption; Commercial banks; Sub-Saharan Africa; Global