Review of the Financial Sector Assessment Program—Further Adaptation to the Post-Crisis Era

Policy Papers ◽  
2014 ◽  
Vol 2014 (66) ◽  
Author(s):  

The Financial Sector Assessment Program (FSAP), established in 1999, is an in-depth assessment of a country’s financial sector. It is an important element of the Fund’s surveillance and provides input to the Article IV consultations. In developing and emerging market countries, FSAP assessments are usually conducted jointly with the World Bank and include two components: a financial stability assessment (the main responsibility of the Fund) and a financial development assessment (the main responsibility of the World Bank). Each FSAP concludes with the preparation of a Financial System Stability Assessment (FSSA), which focuses on issues of relevance to IMF surveillance and is discussed by the IMF Executive Board normally together with the country’s Article IV staff report. Since the program’s inception, 144 member countries have requested and undergone FSAPs, most of them more than once. In recent years, the Fund has been conducting 14–16 FSAPs per year at an annual cost of US$13–15 million. The last review of the FSAP in 2009, in the aftermath of the global financial crisis, introduced a number of far-reaching reforms that have clarified the responsibilities of the Fund and the Bank in developing and emerging market countries, where assessments usually take place jointly, established institutional accountability, strengthened the analytical focus and coverage of FSAPs, and introduced the option of modular assessments that has afforded the Fund and national authorities greater flexibility on the scope and timing of assessments. In 2010, the financial stability assessment under the FSAP in 25 jurisdictions with financial sectors deemed by the Fund to be systemically important became a mandatory part of Article IV surveillance, expected to take place every five years. The list was expanded to 29 jurisdictions in 2013. For all other jurisdictions, FSAP participation continues to be voluntary.In 2010, the financial stability assessment under the FSAP in 25 jurisdictions with financial sectors deemed by the Fund to be systemically important became a mandatory part of Article IV surveillance, expected to take place every five years. The list was expanded to 29 jurisdictions in 2013. For all other jurisdictions, FSAP participation continues to be voluntary.

Policy Papers ◽  
2013 ◽  
Vol 2013 (94) ◽  
Author(s):  

In September 2010, the Executive Board made financial stability assessments under the Financial Sector Assessment program (FSAP) a regular and mandatory part of bilateral surveillance under Article IV for jurisdictions with systemically important financial sectors. This decision recognized that although financial sector issues were at the core of the Fund’s surveillance mandate, the FSAP as designed in the late 1990s had severe limitations as a tool. Voluntary participation, the low frequency of assessments, and their very broad coverage (particularly in emerging market and developing countries, where assessments are typically conducted jointly with the World Bank) limited the usefulness of the FSAP for surveillance. Building on the revamp of the FSAP during the 2009 program review that delineated the institutional responsibilities of the Fund and the World Bank and defined the content of the stability assessment under the FSAP, the Executive Board took the next step in 2010 to make these stability assessments mandatory every five years for members with systemically important financial sectors


Policy Papers ◽  
2010 ◽  
Vol 2010 (47) ◽  
Author(s):  

In September 2009, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank (WB) Boards approved changes to the Financial Sector Assessment Program (FSAP) to (i) make it more flexible and better-aligned with country needs as well as IMF and WB financial sector priorities and core responsibilities; (ii) enhance the quality, candor, and comparability of assessments; and (iii) better-integrate FSAP analysis into the institutions’ evolving mandates.


2016 ◽  
Vol 23 (4) ◽  
pp. 987-1011
Author(s):  
Norman Mugarura

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to articulate the mandate of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) not least in promoting a sound legal regulatory environment for markets to operate globally and its inherent challenges. While acknowledging the plausible work done by the IMF in supporting countries to achieve their macro-economic stability, the paper articulates some of its shortcomings as a global institution. It is evident that the post-war climate in which the World Bank and IMF were created has drastically changed – which presupposes that these institutions now need to reposition themselves to reflect on contemporary global challenges accordingly. The author has argued in the past that a robust regulatory system should be devised taking into account the dynamic challenges in the market environment but also to prevent them from happening again. Design/methodology/approach The paper has utilized empirical evidence to evaluate the mandate of the IMF in addressing its dynamic challenges such as the global financial and debt crises in Europe and the USA and prevention of financial sector abuse globally. The IMF is one of the Bretton Woods Institutions charged with the oversight responsibility to enforce policies and enable countries to manage their macro-economic challenges efficiently. Findings The findings demonstrate that the IMF is as relevant and important as it was when it was created in 1945. However, there is a need for intrinsic and structural changes within this institution to continue discharging its mandate in a changed global regulatory landscape. The IMF is still crucial in fostering a fundamental stabilization function to fragile global economies in areas of financial and technical assistance, and developing requisite legal and supervisory infrastructure within fledging member countries. Research limitations/implications The paper was written by analysis of both theoretical and empirical data largely based on secondary data sources. It would have been better to first present the findings in an international conference to solicit wide views and internalize them accordingly. Practical implications While acknowledging the plausible work done by the IMF and its counterpart the World Bank in facilitating global financial markets regulation and prevention of financial sector abuse, as oversight institutions, they need to constantly review their mandate to respond robustly to their dynamic challenges such as the global and debt crises and financial sector abuse. Oversight institutions need to constantly review and adapt their mandate accordingly, if they are to discharge their varied responsibilities efficiently. They cannot stand still in the face of challenges because they will be superseded and kept at a back foot. Social implications Markets and states are embedded in each other, and the way they are regulated is of a significant importance to varied stakeholders and people. Originality/value This paper is one of its kind, is unique in its character and evaluates embedded issues using empirical evidence in a way not done in its context before. Secondary data sources have been evaluated to achieve a thoughtful analysis of the objectives of the paper.


2001 ◽  
Vol 40 (4II) ◽  
pp. 435-451 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sabur Ghayur

Rising from the debris of the World War-II and also the devastations caused by the great depression of 1930s, the Bretton Woods twins—international monetary fund (IMF) and the world bank; rather the world bank group1—have over the years emerged as important players of the international financial arena. They are the major component of international financial architecture in addressing global macro and financial stability. The Bank together with the regional multi-lateral development banks (MDBs), such as the Asian Development Bank (ADB) for the Asian and the Pacific region, is making its contribution in building necessary infrastructure needed to initiate and support the development process, the recent reduced emphasis on such projects notwithstanding.


2014 ◽  
Vol 52 (1) ◽  
pp. 234-236

Richard N. Cooper of Harvard University reviews, “The Bretton Woods Transcripts” by Kurt Schuler and Andrew Rosenberg. The Econlit abstract of this book begins: “Presents the verbatim record of meetings of the Bretton Woods Conference, which established the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank. Transcripts focus on Commission I—the International Monetary Fund; the committees of Commission I; and Commissions II and III—the World Bank and other means of cooperation. Schuler is an economist in the Office of International Affairs at the U.S. Department of the Treasury and Senior Fellow in Financial History at the Center for Financial Stability. Rosenberg is a research associate at the Center for Financial Stability.”


1998 ◽  
Vol 37 (2) ◽  
pp. 405-432 ◽  

Weaknesses in the banking system of a country, whether developing or developed, can threaten financial stability both within that country and internationally. The need to improve the strength of financial systems hasattracted growing international concern. The Communique issued at the close of the Lyon G-7 Summit in June 1996 called for action in this domain. Several official bodies, including the Basle Committee on Banking Supervision, the Bank for International Settlements, the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank, have recently been examining ways to strengthen financial stability throughout the world.


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