Resources

This paper analyzes the experience of four state financial institutions that have performed relatively well in the past: Canada’s Business Development Bank, Chile’s BancoEstado, South Africa’s Development Bank of Southern Africa, and Finland’s Finnvera plc. The author...Read More

The objective of this paper is to report the results of a joint survey of the Union of Arab Banks and the World Bank (henceforth the MENA survey), including not only the bank responses but also the statistical analysis of the dataset.  The MENA survey was conducted...Read More

This report contributes to the effort to improve MENA’s growth and employment performance by providing a diagnostic of MENA’s financial systems and proposing a roadmap for more diversified, competitive, and inclusive financial systems. The report recognizes the need to...Read More

The paper provides an assessment of the state of financial inclusion in the MENA region, and identifies constraints, opportunities, and priorities for significantly improving access to finance. Practical recommendations for improving financial inclusion are outlined. Read More

It analyses the challenges and opportunities facing young enterprises and their owners throughout the MENA region. It provides a balanced review of the arguments for and against an active government policy supporting high growth enterprises, drawing on evidence and...Read More

Islamic finance has been growing rapidly in recent years. Motivated by a heightened interest in financial instruments that emphasize risk sharing, it has been attracting greater attention in the wake of the recent financial crisis. This class of instru- ments appears...Read More

This report provides a comprehensive view of the performance of the microfi- nance sector in the Arab region, beginning with a 2006-2008 study of scale and out- reach trends with a sample of 35 micro- finance institutions (MFIs) and a special focus on the microfinance...Read More

This paper assesses the status of credit reporting systems in MENA. It shows that, while the quality of credit reporting has improved in recent years, due largely to the introduction of new credit bureaus in some countries, much remains to be done, both in terms of...Read More

This paper studies the causes of the low development of the insurance sector in the Middle East and North African (MENA) region, particularly for long term insurance. The paper shows that life and non-life premiums, as well as assets, are very low relative to expected...Read More

Privately-managed funds that invest in a wide variety of asset classes are beginning to develop in MENA countries.  In terms of assets under management/GDP, however, investment funds in MENA countries are still small relative to those in countries with similar economic...Read More