Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan. Rapid increase in defaults poses a threat to financial stability of the two economies. From a social standpoint, excessive debt can decrease households’ disposable…

Fernando Dancausa, Martin Melecky |

BRD issued first bond for sustainable projects. It rewards borrowers for reaching goals like ESG compliance, funding women-led projects, and affordable housing. The Government of Rwanda used IDA…

Alwaleed Alatabani, Niraj Verma, Miguel Navarro |

Catastrophe bonds, also known as #catbonds, brings diversification to investment portfolios and provides robust performance in good and bad times. What could a cat bond for a Central Asian country…

Naomi Cooney, Daniel McGree, Martin Melecky, Tatiana Skalon |

Banking supervisors in Central Asia need to be prepared for a potentially sharp rise in NPLs. A recent World Bank policy paper assesses the NPL resolution framework in four Central Asian countries…

Emiko Todoroki, Ismael Ahmad Fontan, Fernando Dancausa, Maksym Iavorskyi |

Uzbekistanis save as much as people in other developing countries, don’t use banks or other financial institutions to deposit their savings. As a result, most women follow the example of friends…

Davit Babasyan, Martin Melecky, Nargis Podchoeva |

Findings from the National Financial Inclusion Survey in Sri Lanka, which was led by the Central Bank of Sri Lanka, with technical assistance from IFC, under the IFC-DFAT Women in Work Program in…

Shanuki Gunasekera, Rathnija Arandara |

Establishing a fit-for-purpose banking law in Uzbekistan

Miquel Dijkman, Eva Gutierrez |

Also available in: Français Brainstorming session at the Bamako Policy Hackathon. Photo: World Bank What would happen if you put all the relevant players for the entrepreneurial ecosystem —…

Alexandre Laure, Jon Stever |

With financial inclusion now established as an objective for most financial sector policymakers worldwide,  the day-to-day responsibility for ensuring its achievement in a responsible, consumer-…

Wilson Kamali, Douglas Randall |