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Business and Economics > Insurance

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Cover Financial Integration in Latin America
Financial Integration in Latin America
A New Strategy for a New Normal
Mr. Charles Enoch
,
Wouter Bossu
,
Carlos Caceres
, and
Ms. Diva Singh

Abstract

With growth slowing across much of the Latin America as a result of the end of the commodity supercycle and economic rebalancing in China, as well as fragmentation of the international banking system, policies to stimulate growth are needed. This book examines the financial landscapes of seven Latin American economies—Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Mexico, Panama, Peru, and Uruguay—and makes a case for them to pursue regional financial integration. Chapters set out the benefits to the region of financial integration, the barriers to cross-border activity in banks, insurance companies, pension funds, and capital markets, as well as recommendations to address these barriers. Finally, the volume makes the case that regional integration now could be a step toward global integration in the short term.

Keywords:
BOOK; market; asset; firm; bank; LA-7; Latin American economy; securities exchange; asset growth; pension fund assets; market liquidity; Insurance companies; Financial integration; Pension spending; Insurance; Regional integration; Global; Central America; Europe; North America; Asia and Pacific
Cover IMF Staff Country Reports
Chile: Financial System Stability Assessment
International Monetary Fund
In recent years, the IMF has released a growing number of reports and other documents covering economic and financial developments and trends in member countries. Each report, prepared by a staff team after discussions with government officials, is published at the option of the member country.
Keywords:
ISCR; CR; mutual fund; central bank; financial system; debt market; credit card; investment adviser; equity trading; interest rate; real GDP; Insurance companies; Mutual funds; Insurance; Legal support in revenue administration; Pension spending; Global
Cover IMF Working Papers
How the Financial Crisis Affects Pensions and Insurance and Why the Impacts Matter
Ian Tower
and
Gregorio Impavido
This paper discusses the key sources of vulnerabilities for pension plans and insurance companies in light of the global financial crisis of 2008. It also discusses how these institutional investors transit shocks to the rest of the financial sector and economy. The crisis has re-ignited the policy debate on key issues such as: 1) the need for countercyclical funding and solvency rules; 2) the tradeoffs implied in marked based valuation rules; 3) the need to protect contributors towards retirement from excessive market volatility; 4) the need to strengthen group supervision for large complex financial institutions including insurance and pensions; and 5) the need to revisit the resolution and crisis management framework for insurance and pensions.
Keywords:
WP; pension assets; rate of return; asset volatility; balance sheet; financial crisis; holding company; interest rate; investment risk
Cover IMF Working Papers
Efficiency and Performance of Bulgarian Private Pensions
Gregorio Impavido
This paper analyzes the performance of the Bulgarian private defined contribution pensions in the second and third pillars of the pension system.
Keywords:
WP; pension firm; market power; risk pooling; buy and hold; joint stock
Cover IMF Working Papers
Contingent Liabilities: Issues and Practice
Aliona Cebotari
Contingent liabilities have gained prominence in the analysis of public finance. Indeed, history is full of episodes in which the financial position of the public sector is substantially altered-or its true nature uncovered-as a result of government bailouts of financial or nonfinancial entities, in both the private and the public sector. The paper discusses theoretical and practical issues raised by contingent liabilities, including the rationale for taking them on, how to safeguard against the fiscal risks associated with them, how to account and budget for them, and how to disclose them. Country experiences are used to illustrate ways these issues are addressed in practice and challenges faced. The paper also points to good practices related to the mitigation, management and disclosure of risks from contingent liabilities.
Keywords:
WP; balance sheet; government guarantee; insurance coverage; net present value; risk premium
Cover IMF Staff Country Reports
Mexico: Financial Sector Assessment Program Update: Technical Note: The Pension Annuity Market
International Monetary Fund
This paper presents a technical note on Mexico’s Financial Sector Assessment Program update. The Mexican experience displays interesting characteristics that provide lessons for other countries that still need to design the decumulation phase of their newly established second pillars. The rationale for the choice of specialized annuity providers has been, on the one hand, to avoid the contagion effect from composite life and nonlife insurance companies operating annuities, and on the other hand, the implicit government guarantee associated with a benefit provision for which participation has been mandated by the federal government.
Keywords:
ISCR; CR; annuity company; interest rate; private sector; annuity provider; key rate; annuity market; company performance; market penetration; rate of return; base salary; pension annuity provider; Insurance; Pensions; Pension spending; Insurance companies; Aging; Central and Eastern Europe; Global
Cover IMF Staff Country Reports
Republic of Poland: Financial Sector Assessment Program-Technical Note-Competition and Performance in the Polish Second Pillar
International Monetary Fund
This technical note for the Republic of Poland on competition and performance explains the Polish pension system and domestic capital market. Competition policies may need to be reviewed, in particular the combination of measures to maintain small pension funds operating while imposing strict caps on fees. If the government decides to continue pursuing policy of promoting competition in returns while reducing fees further, it may need to consider more structural changes in the second pillar, along the lines of the Swedish model.
Keywords:
ISCR; CR; private equity; government bond; management fee; coverage ratio; equity portfolio; variable annuity; pension fund portfolio; Pension spending; Stocks; Mutual funds; Insurance; Pensions; Europe
Cover IMF Working Papers
Managing Systemic Liquidity Risk in Financially Dollarized Economies
Mr. Eduardo Levy Yeyati
,
Mr. Alain Ize
, and
Miguel A. Kiguel
This paper evaluates ways to protect highly dollarized banking systems from systemic liquidity runs (such as the ones that took place recently in Argentina, Uruguay, and Paraguay). In view of the limitations of available (private or official) insurance schemes, and the distortions introduced by central bank lending of last resort (LOLR), the authors favor decentralized liquid foreign asset requirements on dollar deposits, supplemented by a scheme of "circuit breakers." The latter combines the use of limited dollar liquidity to ensure the convertibility of transactional deposits with a mechanism that automatically limits the convertibility of dollar term deposits once triggered by a predetermined decline in banks' liquidity.
Keywords:
WP; dollar LOLR; liquidity holding; LOLR facility; dollar deposit; dollar liquidity; liquidation cost; Dollarization; Systemic Liquidity; Banking Crises; bank resolution system; dollar bank; bank liquidation cost; peso bank; bank resolution mechanism; liquidity levels bank; Liquidity; Commercial banks; Lender of last resort; Insurance; Correspondent banking; Europe; Africa
Cover IMF Working Papers
Insurance Value of International Reserves: An Option Pricing Approach
Mr. Jaewoo Lee
A quantitative framework is developed to bring forward the insurance motive of holding international reserves. The insurance value of reserves is quantified as the market price of an equivalent option that provides the same insurance coverage as the reserves. This quantitative framework is applied to calculating the cost of a regional insurance arrangement (e.g., an Asian Monetary Fund) and to analyzing one leg of an optimal reserve-holding decision.
Keywords:
WP; coverage ratio; put option; option price; interest rate; Reserves; insurance; option; underlying asset; insurance value; reserve coverage ratio rise; market value; coverage ratio decrease; reserve holding; Asset valuation; Asset prices; International reserves; Options; Asia and Pacific; Global
Cover IMF Staff Country Reports
Chile: Financial System Stability Assessment, including Reports on the Observance of Standards and Codes on the following topics: Monetary and Financial Policy Transparency, Banking Supervision, and Securities Regulation
International Monetary Fund
This paper highlights key findings of the Financial System Stability Assessment, including Reports on the Observance of Standards and Codes on Monetary and Financial Policy Transparency, Banking Supervision, and Securities Regulation for Chile. The assessment reveals the Chilean banking system to be sound, resilient to shocks, and well supervised. Banks are well capitalized, profitable, internationally integrated, and have relatively low nonperforming loans. Stress tests indicate that they would absorb sizable macroeconomic shocks with only a moderate impact on their solvency. Although bank competition remains limited, it has increased significantly in recent years.
Keywords:
ISCR; CR; bank; market; Chile; central bank; carrying cost; secondary market liquidity; securities lending; commercial paper; Securities; Pension spending; Insurance companies; Insurance; Commercial banks; Global