Narrow Your Choices

Refine By Countries

Refine By Series

Refine By Language

Refine By Date

—

Refine By IMF Taxonomy

Refine By JEL Taxonomy

Refine by LOC Taxonomy

Refine By THEMA Taxonomy

  • Print
  • Save

Business and Economics > Banks and Banking

You are looking at 1 - 10 of 259 items for :

  • Type: Journal Issue x
  • Economic and financial statistics x
Clear All Modify Search
Cover IMF Staff Country Reports
Republic of Kazakhstan: 2024 Article IV Consultation-Press Release; and Staff Report
International Monetary Fund. Middle East and Central Asia Dept.
After reaching 5.1 percent in 2023, growth is expected to slow to 3.9 percent in 2024, while inflation would decline to 8.2 percent. The banking sector remains resilient amid continued rapid consumer credit growth. A moderate current account deficit is expected this year. The outlook is subject to elevated risks, including from an uncertain external environment. Decisive reforms are necessary to diversify the economy, make growth higher and more inclusive, and address challenges from climate change.
Keywords:
IMF TA; IMF's holding; money-market development; inflation pressure; central bank communications; Policy effectiveness; NBK policy rate; oil revenue; IMF's transparency policy; Fiscal stance; Financial Sector Assessment Program; Government finance statistics; Global
Cover Technical Assistance Reports
Saint Lucia: Technical Assistance Report-Report on External Sector Statistics Mission
International Monetary Fund. Statistics Dept.
A technical assistance (TA) mission on external sector statistics (ESS) was conducted to the Central Statistics Office (CSO) of Saint Lucia as part of the Caribbean Regional Technical Assistance Centre (CARTAC) work program on ESS. The mission focused on addressing data compilation issues on trade in goods—especially on the import and re-export of fuel—and travel credits and assessed the revised 2022 balance of payments that was disseminated in December 2023.
Keywords:
Saint Lucia; balance of payments statistics; external sector statistics.; balance of payments estimate; St. Lucia imports; exit surveys methodology; validation procedure; balance of payments survey; CED data; Civil society organizations; External sector statistics; Imports; Customs unions; Exports; Caribbean
Cover IMF Staff Country Reports
Republic of Equatorial Guinea: 2023 Article IV Consultation-Press Release; Staff Report; and Statement by the Executive Director for Republic of Equatorial Guinea
International Monetary Fund. African Dept.
The 2023 Article IV Consultation discusses that Equatorial Guinea’s economy remains confronted with a continuous decline in oil production. The overall fiscal surplus is estimated to have dropped to 0.3 percent of GDP from 13.6 percent in 2022, while the nonhydrocarbon primary fiscal deficit is expected at 23.3 percent of nonhydrocarbon gross domestic product (GDP), up from 22.7 percent of nonhydrocarbon GDP in 2022. Near and medium-term growth prospects appear challenging with the projected reduction in oil production and lacklustre growth in the non-oil economy due to underlying structural weaknesses. Real GDP growth is projected to contract by 5.5 percent in 2024, and the economy would remain on average in recession over the medium term. Fostering nonhydrocarbon growth and inclusion is critical to long-term macroeconomic and social stability.
Keywords:
macroeconomic reform effort; government arrears; Equatoguinean economy; U.S. dollar; government's commitment; IMF's transparency policy; Equatorial Guinea's economy; governance strategy; liability positions vis-à-vis nonresident; External sector statistics; Fiscal stance; Commercial banks; Global
Cover Regional Economic Outlook, Middle East and Central Asia, October 2023
Regional Economic Outlook, Middle East and Central Asia, October 2023
Building Resilience and Fostering Sustainable Growth
International Monetary Fund. Middle East and Central Asia Dept.

Abstract

Across the Middle East and Central Asia, the combined effects of global headwinds, domestic challenges, and geopolitical risks weigh on economic momentum, and the outlook is highly uncertain. Growth is set to slow this year in the Middle East and North Africa region, driven by lower oil production, tight policy settings in emerging market and middle-income economies, the conflict in Sudan, and other country-specific factors. In the Caucasus and Central Asia, although migration, trade, and financial inflows following Russia’s war in Ukraine continue to support economic activity, growth is set to moderate slightly this year. Looking ahead, economic activity in the Middle East and North Africa region is expected to improve in 2024 and 2025 as some factors weighing on growth this year gradually dissipate, including the temporary oil production cuts. But growth is expected to remain subdued over the forecast horizon amid persistent structural hurdles. In the Caucasus and Central Asia, economic growth is projected to slow next year and over the medium term as the boost to activity from real and financial inflows from Russia gradually fades and deep-seated structural challenges remain unsolved. Inflation is broadly easing, in line with globally declining price pressures, although country-specific factors—including buoyant wage growth in some Caucasus and Central Asia countries—and climate-related events continue to make their mark. Despite some improvement since April, the balance of risks to the outlook remains on the downside. In this context, expediting structural reforms is crucial to boost growth and strengthen resilience, while tight monetary and fiscal policies remain essential in several economies to durably bring down inflation and ensure public debt sustainability.

Keywords:
growth; inflation; public debt; external financing; commodity prices; structural reforms; investment; labor productivity; financial stability; stress testing; governance reform; GCC country; credit market reform; government effectiveness; reform package; Policy space; Emerging and frontier financial markets; Credit; Labor force participation; Middle East and Central Asia; Central Asia and the Caucasus; Middle East; North Africa; oil exporter; IMF staff calculation; CCA bank; sovereign-bank nexus; Fiscal stance; Current account balance; Commercial banks; Oil exports; Global
Cover IMF Staff Country Reports
South Africa: Technical Assistance Report—Monetary and Financial Statistics (Duty Station-based) Mission (August 10–23, 2022); IMF Country Report No. 23/263
International Monetary Fund. Statistics Dept.
This technical assistant report on South Africa focuses on monetary and financial statistics (duty station-based) mission. The mission developed bridge tables from the source data of money market funds (MMFs), the Land Bank, and Ithala SOC to 2SR. The mission estimated that reclassifying the MMFs from the Other Financial Corporations to the Other Depository Corporations sector would increase broad money by two to three percent. Once the reclassification takes place, the mission recommended that the Economic Statistics Department prepare a methodological note explaining the impact on monetary aggregates. Some problems were detected with the grouping of accounts as an intermediate step to produce the bridge table. Clustering individual accounts has the risk of misclassifying deposit accounts in overdraft. As already stated, deposit accounts in overdraft should be classified as loans, not netted against the balances of other account holders. In order to support progress in the above work areas, the mission recommended a detailed action plan with the priority recommendations summarized in a table. A period for completing these recommendations was discussed and agreed in principle with the authorities.
Keywords:
Monetary and Financial Statistics; Broad Money; Other Depository Corporations; Standardized Report Forms; financials Statistics manual; finance department; depository corporations Survey; Ithala development finance corporation; staff team of the International Monetary Fund; IMF executive directors; Financial statements; Monetary base; Monetary statistics; Commercial banks; Africa
Cover IMF Staff Country Reports
Suriname: Technical Assistance Report on Government Finance Statistics Mission-(October 10–21, 2022)
International Monetary Fund. Statistics Dept.
This technical assistance report on Suriname highlights proceedings of the Government Finance Statistics (GFS) mission. The authorities have partially followed the recommendations from previous mission that took place in April 2022. While there has been significant progress in below-the-line data, little progress has been made in above-the-line data. Compilers from the Statistics Department of the Central Bank of Suriname have compiled a financial balance sheet of the Central Government (CG) to assure the integration of flows with the stocks of financial assets and liabilities. In addition, they perform regular consistency checks of data on the CG deposits and loans with the recordings in the banking system. No developments have been achieved regarding the institutional sector coverage and little progress has been done regarding the above-the-line data compilation. One of the main issues that hamper GFS data quality is that no comprehensive data on the government revenues and expenditure exist in Suriname. The mission provided an extended hands-on training for the main GFS team compiling above-the-line transactions.
Keywords:
government finance Statistics mission; IMF's Statistics department; Suriname debt management office; staff team of the International Monetary Fund; GFS compiler; Government finance statistics; Fiscal accounting and reporting; Commercial banks; Stocks
Cover IMF Staff Country Reports
Solomon Islands: 2023 Article IV Consultation-Press Release; and Staff Report
International Monetary Fund. Asia and Pacific Dept
This 2023 Article IV Consultation highlights that the economy is recovering from multiple shocks in the past three years, but the recovery is still fragile in the Solomon Islands. Near-term fiscal policy should focus on prudent execution of the 2023 budget, followed by rebuilding of the government’s cash balance. Prudent management of public investment projects including their financing arrangements is an urgent priority. The current exchange rate regime remains appropriate, but a timely review of the currency basket is called for, given changes in trade patterns. Solomon Islands’ external position in 2022 is assessed to be substantially weaker than the level consistent with medium-term fundamentals and desirable policies. Developing new growth drivers, including by enhancing natural resource wealth management, market regulation, and addressing governance weaknesses and corruption vulnerabilities, is an urgent priority. The IMF continues to support capacity development of the authorities in collaboration with development partners.
Keywords:
CBSI staff; liability positions vis-à-vis nonresident; CBSI approval; CBSI assessment; BOP unit; External sector statistics; Commercial banks; Global; Pacific Islands
Cover IMF Staff Country Reports
Philippines: Technical Assistance Report-Property Price Index Mission
International Monetary Fund. Statistics Dept.
This technical assistance report on Philippines provides details about the Property Price Index mission. The authorities intend to improve the methods used for the Residential Real Estate Price Index and publish the Commercial Property Price Index (land only) for the first time. Some further improvements to the methods should be implemented, including amending the level at which the weights are applied in the aggregation process. The new methodology was evaluated to ensure that it adheres to international compilation standards and best practices. The authorities are committed to increasing the coverage of the statistics to include both cash purchases and other forms of non-bank lending. The existing data source used for the property price statistics are quarterly reports from the commercial banks. The report recommends to increase the capacity of the team with hedonic regression methods through attendance at a training course and/or planning further technical assistance.
Keywords:
Prices Property; property price index mission; World Bank staff; instrumentalities of the TA recipient; price data distribution; title information; RREPI revision; Land prices; Price indexes; Data processing; Research in revenue administration; Commercial banks
Cover IMF Staff Country Reports
Czech Republic: 2022 Article IV Consultation-Press Release; and Staff Report
International Monetary Fund. European Dept.
This 2022 Article IV Consultation highlights that Russia’s war in Ukraine has stifled the Czech Republic’s nascent recovery from the pandemic. Uncertainty is high due to the war with risks to economic activity tilted to the downside and risks to inflation tilted to the upside. The economy remains vulnerable to the availability of and further increases in energy and commodity prices. Czechia's nascent recovery from the pandemic has been hindered by Russia’s war in Ukraine. Gas shortages are unlikely this winter but further increases in energy prices are a key risk. Inflation, which is well above target, and the rise in the cost of living are causing significant social pressure. Amid a volatile economic environment and high risks to the outlook, policy needs to balance reducing inflation with supporting the most vulnerable. Once uncertainty dissipates, continuing the structural policy agenda will be critical. Labor market policies should continue to improve the integration of women, migrants, and refugees, and facilitate the green and digital economic transformation. The indexation of the retirement age to life expectancy would improve pension sustainability and increase labor supply. While energy security is an immediate priority, policies for the green transformation should continue.
Keywords:
inflation expectation; high-inflation environment; headline inflation; potential GDP; reducing inflation; creating capital inflows; Inflation; Fiscal stance; External sector statistics; Consumption; Europe; Global
Cover IMF Staff Country Reports
St. Kitts and Nevis: 2018 Article IV Consultation-Press Release; Staff Report; and Statement by the Executive Director for St. Kitts and Nevis
International Monetary Fund. Western Hemisphere Dept.
Growth decelerated marginally in 2017, as the continued decline in CBI inflows slowed growth in construction. Consumer inflation was low, partly due to a small contraction in food prices. The overall fiscal balance remained in surplus but has deteriorated markedly since its 2013- peak, and the debt-to-GDP ratio increased marginally from the previous year. The current account deficit remains high and only marginally declined in 2017, as the decline in CBI receipts was more than offset by growing tourism receipts and a significant decrease in imports. Foreign reserves at the ECCB remained at comfortable levels, well above the various reserve-adequacy metrics. The banking sector has reported capital and liquidity ratios that are well above the regulatory minimum but has elevated NPLs and risks, including delays in completing the debt-land swap arrangement and loss of Corresponding Banking Relationships (CBRs).
Keywords:
SKN government; SKN economy; CBI program; NPL resolution strategy; due diligence; Commercial banks; Public sector; Government finance statistics; Credit; Caribbean