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International Monetary Fund. Western Hemisphere Dept.
The 2023 Article IV Consultation highlights that St. Lucia’s tourist-dependent economy has rebounded strongly after the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic and the commodity import price shock due to Russia’s war in Ukraine. Output is currently near the pre-pandemic level, while higher government revenue has narrowed the fiscal deficit. The gross domestic product growth projection in 2023, at 3.2 percent, is lower than 2022 as tourism demand continues the recovery and the economy approaches the existing production capacity. Afterward, it is projected to gradually decline toward a potential rate of 1.5 percent in the medium-term. With output approaching full recovery, the priority is to start rebuilding fiscal and financial buffers and place public debt on a solid downward trend, anchored on the regional debt ceiling, through growth-friendly fiscal consolidation and fiscal rules. In the banking sector, it is important to reach full compliance with the regional central bank’s provisioning requirements. The momentum of reforms to address disincentives to bank lending should be maintained by passing legislation to expedite loan collateral appropriation. Draft legislation to strengthen the regulation and supervision of credit unions should be passed, and the planned asset quality review carried forward.
International Monetary Fund. Finance Dept.
On December 12, 2022, the IMF’s Executive Board reviewed the adequacy of the Fund’s precautionary balances. The review took place on the standard two-year cycle, after an interim review in December 2021. Precautionary balances comprise the Fund’s general and special reserves. They are a key element of the IMF’s multi-layered framework for managing financial risks. Precautionary balances provide a buffer to protect the Fund against potential losses, resulting from credit, income, and other financial risks. In conducting the review, the Executive Board applied the rules-based framework agreed in 2010. Precautionary balances have risen further since the 2021 interim review and coverage metrics have strengthened. At the same, credit and other financial risks have also increased. The pace of reserve accumulation is expected to remain adequate. Against this background, Executive Directors endorsed staff’s proposal to retain the current medium-term target of SDR 25 billion and the minimum floor of SDR 15 billion. The Board also discussed the role of surcharges, which are primarily a component of the Fund’s risk management framework but also contribute to reserves accumulation.
International Monetary Fund. Western Hemisphere Dept.
Grenada’s economy was hit hard by the pandemic, with a decline in real output of 14 percent in 2020 from both a collapse of tourism-related activities and the suspension of in-person classes at Saint George’s University (SGU). Growth in 2021 is estimated to have partly recovered to 5.6 percent, driven by construction and agriculture. The authorities’ policy response helped mitigate the pandemic’s impact through containment measures, increased health and social spending, and an expanded public investment program (including to build resilience to natural disasters). Central government debt rose to 70 percent of GDP in 2021 (from 59 percent in 2019) and the external position has worsened. The financial sector has so far weathered the crisis well.
Ms. Anastasia Guscina
,
Sheheryar Malik
, and
Mr. Michael G. Papaioannou
Loss of market access (LMA) is a central element and an exacerbator of balance of payments and fiscal crises. This paper provides an operational definition of LMA, examines the predictive power of potential LMA leading indicators, attempts to determine the likely nature (temporary versus structural) of an LMA episode, and analyzes potential implications of such an assessment on the required degree of adjustment to restore market access. Finally, it highlights the possible application of the methodological framework for identifying emerging risks to market access.
International Monetary Fund. European Dept.
This paper discusses the status of Ukraine’s Eurobond held by the Russian Federation. The bond was acquired by Russia’s National Wealth Fund (NWF) pursuant to a decision by the Russian Government to provide assistance to Ukraine. In public statements at the time the bond was issued, Russia’s Finance Minister, Mr. Siluanov, explained that assistance was being provided via the NWF because the funds had not been appropriated in the federal budget, ruling out a direct intergovernmental credit. The IMF staff is of the view that the Eurobond is an official claim for the purposes of the IMF’s policy on arrears to official bilateral creditors.
Bertrand Candelon
,
Mr. Amadou N Sy
, and
Mr. Rabah Arezki
This paper examines the spillover effects of sovereign rating news on European financial markets during the period 2007-2010. Our main finding is that sovereign rating downgrades have statistically and economically significant spillover effects both across countries and financial markets. The sign and magnitude of the spillover effects depend both on the type of announcements, the source country experiencing the downgrade and the rating agency from which the announcements originates. However, we also find evidence that downgrades to near speculative grade ratings for relatively large economies such as Greece have a systematic spillover effects across Euro zone countries. Rating-based triggers used in banking regulation, CDS contracts, and investment mandates may help explain these results.
Mr. Andrew J Tiffin
,
Mr. Christian B. Mulder
, and
Mr. Charalambos Christofides
This paper examines the relationship between adherence to international standards of good practice in policy-making and two key indicators of access to capital markets and the cost of this access: spreads and sovereign ratings. In contrast to other work, this study reviews a broad set of indicators for adherence to international standards. The estimations are conducted for emerging market economies, and pay particular attention to issues of persistence in spreads and ratings and nonlinearities in the relationships. The main finding confirms the expectation that standards are indeed relevant. Accounting standards and property rights are especially important for spreads, in addition to data transparency (SDDS subscription). Accounting standards and corruption are especially important in explaining ratings in addition to trade protectiveness (not a standard).