Resources

This article is related to an emerging literature on access to financial services. Most of the existing research and efforts under way focus on country case studies that aim at measuring and analyzing access to financial services at the household or firm level.Few...Read More

This paper introduces the updated and expanded version of the Financial Development and Structure Database and presents recent trends in structure and development of financial institutions and markets across countries. Read More

This paper examines the determinants of Islamic bank profitability in the MENA region, during the years 1999-2006. We estimate several specifications to study the impact of bank-specific and country-specific variables, including macro-economic conditions, market...Read More

This paper explores how the structure of the Islamic banking sector has been evolving in the MENA region in recent years, and how it is growing in terms of assets, liabilities, financing and funding structures within the region and across different countries. It also...Read More

This study discusses the main characteristics of the SME sector in Europe and provides an informative analysis about what Basel II means for SMEs and its impact on their credit financing conditions. It also presents a detailed analysis of how banks formulate an...Read More

This paper tests whether there is a causal relationship between insurance market activity (life and non-life insurance) and economic growth. Using the generalized method of moments for dynamic models of panel data for 56 countries and for the 1976-2004 period, we find...Read More

This paper provides a preliminary analysis of leasing markets in the MENA region. The analysis comprises an examination of the types and diversification of players/products in these markets, the status of market development vis-`a-vis other countries and regions, and...Read More

This paper evaluates existing explicit deposit insurance systems in the MENA region by benchmarking them to the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision (BCBS) and the International Association of Deposit Insurers (IADI) Core Principles for Effective Deposit Insurance...Read More

This paper presents a theory of Financial Infrastructure - or the set of the rules, institutions, and systems, within which agents carry out financial transactions. Read More

The aim of this report is to assess the state of Islamic banking in North Africa, examine why it has failed to take-off and consider its future potential and how it can contribute to the economic development. Read More