Building Resilient Banking Sectors in the Caucasus and Central Asia
Building Resilient Banking Sectors in the Caucasus and Central Asia

Author: International Monetary Fund. Middle East and Central Asia Dept.

Publisher: International Monetary Fund

Published: 2018-07-06

Total Pages: 49

ISBN-13: 1484366336

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External shocks since 2014—lower oil prices and slower growth in key trading partners—have put financial sectors, mainly banks, in the eight Caucasus and Central Asia (CCA) countries under increased stress. Even before the shocks, CCA banking sectors were not at full strength. Asset quality was generally weak, due in part to shortcomings in regulation, supervision, and governance. The economies were highly dollarized. Business practices were affected by lack of competition and, in most countries, connected lending, which undermined banking sector health. Shortcomings in financial regulation and supervision allowed the unsound banking practices to remain unaddressed. The external shocks exacerbated in these underlying vulnerabilities. Strains in CCA banking sectors intensified as liquidity tightened, asset quality deteriorated, and banks became undercapitalized. These challenges have required public intervention in some cases.

Building Resilient Banking Sectors in the Caucasus and Central Asia
Building Resilient Banking Sectors in the Caucasus and Central Asia

Author: MissMercedes Vera Martin

Publisher: International Monetary Fund

Published: 2018-07-06

Total Pages: 49

ISBN-13: 148436077X

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External shocks since 2014—lower oil prices and slower growth in key trading partners—have put financial sectors, mainly banks, in the eight Caucasus and Central Asia (CCA) countries under increased stress. Even before the shocks, CCA banking sectors were not at full strength. Asset quality was generally weak, due in part to shortcomings in regulation, supervision, and governance. The economies were highly dollarized. Business practices were affected by lack of competition and, in most countries, connected lending, which undermined banking sector health. Shortcomings in financial regulation and supervision allowed the unsound banking practices to remain unaddressed. The external shocks exacerbated in these underlying vulnerabilities. Strains in CCA banking sectors intensified as liquidity tightened, asset quality deteriorated, and banks became undercapitalized. These challenges have required public intervention in some cases.

Macroprudential Policies to Enhance Financial Stability in the Caucasus and Central Asia
Macroprudential Policies to Enhance Financial Stability in the Caucasus and Central Asia

Author: Padamja Khandelwal

Publisher: International Monetary Fund

Published: 2022-03-10

Total Pages: 54

ISBN-13:

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Limited economic diversification has made the economies of the Caucasus and Central Asia particularly vulnerable to external shocks. The economies in the region are heavily reliant on oil and mining exports as well as remittances. In some countries, tourism and capital flows also play a prominent role in aggregate economic activity.

Opening Up in the Caucasus and Central Asia
Opening Up in the Caucasus and Central Asia

Author: Mr.Peter J Kunzel

Publisher: International Monetary Fund

Published: 2018-06-13

Total Pages: 59

ISBN-13: 1484362276

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The Caucasus and Central Asia (CCA) countries are at an important juncture in their economic transition. Following significant economic progress during the 2000s, recent external shocks have revealed the underlying vulnerabilities of the current growth model. Lower commodity prices, weaker remittances, and slower growth in key trading partners reduced CCA growth, weakened external and fiscal balances, and raised public debt. the financial sector was also hit hard by large foreign exchange losses. while commodity prices have recovered somewhat since late 2014, to boost its economic potential, the region needs to find new growth drivers, diversify away from natural resources, remittances, and public spending, and generate much stronger private sector-led activity.

Financial Development and Growth in the Caucasus and Central Asia
Financial Development and Growth in the Caucasus and Central Asia

Author: Mr. Tigran Poghosyan

Publisher: International Monetary Fund

Published: 2022-07-08

Total Pages: 25

ISBN-13:

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This paper presents stylized facts on financial development in the CCA countries relative to their EM and LIC peers and assesses how financial development can boost growth in the CCA. Drawing on IMF’s multidimensional index of financial development, we find that CCA countries have made progress following the independence in early 1990s. However, the progress was uneven across the CCA, resulting in a divergence of financial development over time and mixed performance relative to EM and LIC peers. Financial institutions have progressed the most, while financial markets remain underdevelped in most CCA countries except Kazakhstan. In terms of sub-indicators of financial development, financial access has expanded markedly, while the depth of financial intermediation has remained largely shallow and efficiency of financial intermediation has fluctuated over time. Standard growth regressions suggest that CCA countries with relatively lower level of financial development have scope to boost annual growth rates between 0.5-2.5 percent by reaching the level of financial development of frontier CCA countries.

Promoting Inclusive Growth in the Caucasus and Central Asia
Promoting Inclusive Growth in the Caucasus and Central Asia

Author: Ms.Mercedes Vera-Martín

Publisher: International Monetary Fund

Published: 2019-05-15

Total Pages: 57

ISBN-13: 1498315070

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CCA countries achieved gains in inclusiveness over the past 20 years as incomes increased and poverty, inequality, and unemployment declined. Most of the progress occurred before the 2008–09 global financial crisis. Since then, poverty rates have barely moved and, for oil importers, remain elevated.

Regional Economic Outlook, Middle East and Central Asia, October 2023
Regional Economic Outlook, Middle East and Central Asia, October 2023

Author: International Monetary Fund. Middle East and Central Asia Dept.

Publisher: International Monetary Fund

Published: 2023-10-12

Total Pages: 63

ISBN-13:

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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.

Financial Inclusion, Regulation, Literacy, and Education in Central Asia and South Caucasus
Financial Inclusion, Regulation, Literacy, and Education in Central Asia and South Caucasus

Author: Peter J. Morgan

Publisher:

Published: 2019-05-21

Total Pages: 200

ISBN-13: 9784899741053

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Financial inclusion and financial education are becoming increasingly recognized as key requirements for sustainable and inclusive growth, and have been recognized as such by international fora such the Group of Twenty (G20) and the OECD. However, countries in Central Asia and the South Caucasus region have generally lagged in this area. Aside from Kazakhstan, the levels of financial inclusion are substantially below the average level of developing economies. Moreover, there has been little study of the determinants of and barriers to the development of financial inclusion and financial literacy in this region. In this study, prominent scholars in each country examine recent trends in financial inclusion in seven countries--Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyz Republic, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan--for both individuals and small and medium-sized firms (SMEs); institutional and regulatory barriers to the expansion of financial inclusion; and policy options to support greater financial inclusion while maintaining financial stability. The book also examines issues related to the assessment of financial literacy and promotion of financial education to support greater financial inclusion in the region. One prominent feature of the region is the relatively slow uptake of innovative financial technologies that could promote financial inclusion such as mobile phone banking, crowd funding and peer-to-peer (P2P) lending platforms. This book examines the barriers to such development, as recommends policies to facilitate the introduction of such technologies.

Developing the Services Sector for Economic Diversification in CAREC Countries
Developing the Services Sector for Economic Diversification in CAREC Countries

Author: Asian Development Bank

Publisher: Asian Development Bank

Published: 2021-12-01

Total Pages: 169

ISBN-13: 9292692429

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The services sector is becoming a key driver of economic development in most members of the Central Asia Regional Economic Cooperation (CAREC) Program. This study underscores the potential for greater economic diversification through robust development of seven key services subsectors and industries that are critical for economies in the region to function and thrive. CAREC members also need to adopt a coherent and comprehensive approach to the balanced development of these interdependent services subsectors. Enabling conditions such as good governance, competitive markets, strong regional cooperation and integration, efficient labor markets, and high quality physical and digital infrastructure are crucial.

FY 2021-FY 2023 Medium-Term Budget
FY 2021-FY 2023 Medium-Term Budget

Author: International Monetary Fund. Office of Budget and Planning

Publisher: International Monetary Fund

Published: 2020-05-29

Total Pages: 92

ISBN-13: 1513545817

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On April 27, 2020, the Executive Board of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) approved the IMF’s administrative and capital budgets for financial year (FY) 2021, beginning May 1, 2020, and took note of indicative budgets for FY 2022–23.