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This study investigates the existence of political rents in bank lending, using a comprehensive loan-level data set of the universe of commercial loans in Mexico from 2003 to 2012. Identification relies on changes in the state of origin of a senate committee chairman as a source of exogenous variation in firms' political relationship. The study finds that banks offer favorable loan terms to politically connected firms with larger loan quantities, lower loan spreads, longer maturities, and lower collateral requirements. Furthermore, political loans exhibit higher default rates. To isolate the bank supply channel, a rich set of fixed-effects is included with various specifications. The favorable lending increases with the strength of a firm's political connection, varies gradually along the political cycle, and is mainly offered by large and domestic banks. Consistent with the quid pro quo hypothesis, the study finds that banks that extend political loans receive significantly more government borrowings with better credit quality. The study also shows that the greater credit supply due to political connection leads to a large and significant increase in firm-level employment and assets. The study provides estimates of the total social cost of political lending and net revenue for banks that are engaged in rent provision activity. Finally, a series of robustness tests are performed to rule out alternative mechanisms and explanations.

The power sector of Armenia achieved remarkable results through first generation policy, legal, regulatory, and institutional reforms implemented from 1991-2003, the first decade of independence. The sector achieved financial sustainability with tariffs that assured recovery of reasonable expenses and collections that reached virtually 100 percent of sales. The implicit and explicit subsidies to the power sector were eliminated and the largest sector companies were among the top taxpayers in the country. More than 70 percent of power sector assets were denationalized (privatized or transferred to Russian ownership in debt-to-asset swaps). However, in 2010 these achievements started to reverse and gradually worsened during the past several years. Today, the large state-owned sector power companies, as well as the privately-owned Electric Networks of Armenia (ENA) have accumulated large amount of expensive commercial debts and are on the verge of bankruptcy.

This paper studies the role of morality in the decision to repay debts. Using a field experiment with a large Islamic bank in Indonesia, the paper finds that moral appeals strongly increase credit card repayments. In this setting, all of the banks late-paying credit card customers receive a basic reminder to repay their debt one day after they miss the payment due date. In addition, two days before the end of a ten-day grace period, clients in a treatment group also receive a text message that cites an Islamic religious text and states that “non-repayment of debts by someone who is able to repay is an injustice.” This message increases the share of customers meeting their minimum payments by nearly 20 percent. By contrast, sending either a simple reminder or an Islamic quote that is unrelated to debt repayment has no effect on the share of customers making the minimum payment. Clients also respond more strongly to this moral appeal than to substantial financial incentives: receiving the religious message increases repayments by more than offering a cash rebate equivalent to 50 percent of the minimum repayment. Finally, the paper finds that removing religious aspects from the quote does not change its effectiveness, suggesting that the moral appeal of the message does not necessarily rely on its religious connotation.

This snapshot provides an overview of financial inclusion trends and challenges in Tunisia. It follows the recent expiration of the Coordinated Vision for the Development of Microfinance in Tunisia 2011-2014, national strategy published in 2011.

Chinas economic growth continues to moderate, in 2014 gross domestic product (GDP) expanded by 7.4 percent, within the governments indicative growth target of about 7.5 percent for the year, but sharply slower than the 10 percent annual growth rate china averaged for three consecutive decades. An orderly correction in real estate - reflecting policy efforts to reduce supply mismatches and tighten nonbank credit - continues to weigh on economic activity. Ongoing adjustments in real estate, a buildup of excess capacity, and decelerating export growth are affecting industrial activity. In contrast growth in services remained robust as composition of growth continues to improve.

This Technical Note was prepared in the context of a joint World Bank-IMF Financial Sector Assessment Program mission in Bosnia and Herzegovina during October-November 2014. Bosnia’s capital markets are currently small, but they have the potential to play a more important role in the country’s future.

This technical note provides a snapshot of financial inclusion trends and challenges in Tunisia. It follows the recent expiration of the Coordinated Vision for the Development of Microfinance in Tunisia 2011-2014, national strategy published in 2011. This document does not examine all aspects of financial sector development, but rather concentrates specifically on financial inclusion for low-income households and micro-enterprises.

Thesis aim of this draft background note is to provide public debt managers with an overview of the matters that need to be considered by debt management offices planning to provide a securities lending facility to their primary dealers.

Egypt’s economic activity is gaining momentum. Growth accelerated to 5.6 percent during the first half of FY15, compared to a dismal 1.2 percent in the same period last year. The recent spike in economic activity reflects favorable base effects, but more importantly broad-based sector recovery, especially in tourism and manufacturing. On the demand side, growth continues to benefit from resilient consumption and government stimulus, supported by large financial inflows from Gulf States. In March 2015, Egypt held a high level Economic Development Conference, which culminated with the signing of sizeable investment deals worth US$36 billion, securing external financing worth US$24 billion, and the announcement of a new Gulf support package worth US$12.5 billion. This will boost the ongoing economic recovery and facilitate efforts to achieve macroeconomic stability. Annual growth is expected to double to 4.3 percent in FY15, and should increase further thereafter, compared to the muted growth of 2 percent during FY11-FY14. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) conducted its article four consultation in November 2014 and the final report generally commended the authorities’ medium term plans while highlighting some risks including slippage in implementing reforms and a large external financing gap. Egypt’s main risk is to sustain the ongoing economic recovery which requires improved security. Notwithstanding the authorities’ ambitious fiscal consolidation plan, the deficit and debt aggregates will remain high and unsustainable. Further, there are risks of policy slippage as some details and the exact timing of policy measures are still missing and implementation capacity remains a challenge. Further, sustaining the reform pace requires efficient and well-targeted safety nets, which might take time to build. Finally, there is significant uncertainty regarding the financing of the announced mega-projects and the potential contingent liabilities that may arise.

Financial infrastructure is the underlying foundation of a country’s financial system. It is comprised of all institutions, information, technologies, rules, and standards which enable financial intermediation. The quality of a country’s financial infrastructure determines the efficiency of intermediation, the ability of lenders to evaluate risk and of borrowers to obtain credit, insurance, and other financial products at competitive terms. This report covers two dimensions of Jamaica’s financial infrastructure: 1) payments, remittances, and securities settlement systems, and; 2) credit reporting systems. This technical note does not provide a detailed assessment of individual payments system in the form of a Report on Observance of Standards and Codes (ROSC), but uses the framework of international standards for carrying out a detailed analysis of the existing systems in Jamaica, including the Committee on Payment and Settlement Systems (CPSS) and International Organization of Securities Commissions (IOSCO) Principles for Financial Markets Infrastructure (PFMIs), the CPSS General Guidance for National Payment System Development, the CPSS-World Bank General Principles on International Remittance Services (GPs), the World Bank General Principles for credit reporting and related methodologies. The information used in the assessment includes relevant national laws, regulations, rules and procedures governing the systems and other available material.

The overall fiscal position of Bangladesh looks sustainable, but there are concerns that the country may be trapped in a low revenue-low capital spending equilibrium, which is holding back Bangladesh’s growth potential. Eliminating wasteful spending and halting fiscal drains through inefficient non-financial public corporations (NFPCs) are important ways to create fiscal space, particularly in the area of infrastructure. This paper reviews the financial performance of the NFPC sector in Bangladesh, with a specific focus on two major loss-making firms: Bangladesh Petroleum Corporation (BPC) and Power Development Board (PDB). The objective of this paper is to update the Bank’s knowledge on the financial performance of the NFPC sector and estimate the fiscal costs emanating from the sector.