The mission assisted the staff of the Central Bank of the Republic of Azerbaijan (CBAR) in compiling financial soundness indicators (FSIs) in line with the IMF’s 2019 FSIs Compilation Guide. Specifically, the mission assisted the CBAR to compile 14 core and 9 additional monthly FSIs for deposit takers, one additional monthly FSI on real estate markets, and two additional quarterly FSIs on the size of other financial corporation’s subsector.

The mission assisted the staff of the Maldives Monetary Authority (MMA) to compile financial soundness indicators (FSIs) in line with the IMF’s 2019 FSIs Compilation Guide, improve the data frequency of FSIs for deposit takers to monthly, and prepare new FSIs for insurance corporations.

The International Monetary Fund’s (IMF’s) Statistics Department (STA) provided technical assistance (TA) on financial soundness indicators (FSI) to the Federated States of Micronesia Banking Board (FSMBB) during November 2-13, 2020. The TA mission took place in response to a request from the authorities, with the support of the IMF’s Asia & Pacific Department (APD). The mission was conducted remotely via video conferences due to the COVID-19 pandemic and travel restrictions. The mission worked with the staff of the FSMBB on the development of FSIs that are in line with the IMF’s 2019 FSI Guide.1 The main objectives of the mission were to: (i) review the source data, institutional coverage and accounting and regulatory frameworks supporting the compilation of FSIs; (ii) provide guidance for mapping source data for the banking sector to the FSI reporting templates FS2 and FSD as well as areas for improvement in the metadata; (iii) agree with the FSMBB the timeline to begin regular reporting of the FSIs for deposit-takers to STA, conditional on the availability and completeness of the source data; and (iv) agree on the timeliness of data reporting.

The Statistics Department (STA) of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) provided technical assistance (TA) on financial soundness indicators (FSI) to Superintendencia Financiera de Colombia (SFC) during August 30-September 3, 2021. The TA mission took place at the request of and with the support of the IMF’s Western Hemisphere Department (WHD). Due to travel restrictions because of the COVID-19 pandemic, the mission was conducted remotely via video conferences. The mission assisted the SFC officials to (i) review the characteristics of financial institutions and ensure proper classification of financial institutions as deposit-takers (DTs) or other financial corporations (OFCs) for the compilation of FSIs as set out in the IMF’s 2019 Financial Soundness Indicators Compilation Guide (2019 FSIs Guide); and (ii) develop a work program and timeline to revise the reported FSIs because of the mission’s work.

As part of the IMF Statistics Department (STA)' s program to evaluate its technical assistance (TA) and training provided to member countries, and with the support of the Chinese authorities and the Fund’s Asia and Pacific Department (APD), a TA/training evaluation mission visited China during March 16-20, 2009. The objectives of the mission were to: (1) evaluate the effectiveness of STA’s TA and training to China during the period 2003-2008; (2) elicit China’s views on how to broaden and enhance the technical cooperation between STA and China; (3) consider the role of the General Data Dissemination System (GDDS) in support of China’s statistical development; and (4) discuss TA and training priorities for the next two years.

This evaluation of technical assistance (TA) and training in statistics looks at the experience of two transition economies, Albania and Georgia, during roughly the period 2005–2010. The TA, including the training, to these countries covered all the topical areas on which the IMF’s Statistics Department’s (STA) focuses, i.e., national accounts, price statistics, and monetary, balance of payments and government finance statistics, albeit with differing emphases between the two countries. Part of the assistance was funded directly from the IMF’s budget, while other elements (in particular the peripatetic advisors) were financed externally, in these cases by the Japanese government.

This Technical Assistance Report on Djibouti provides details of IMF mission to aid on the financial soundness indicators (FSI). The mission achieved the said objectives and assisted the Banking Supervision Unit (BSU) officials in the preparation of the FSI production files and the development of the metadata files. The mission held constructive discussions with the Central Bank of Djibouti staff on various other aspects of the production of statistics aimed at improving the quality of the data produced. These discussions led to the preparation of an action plan identifying the main improvements to be pursued or undertaken, with the following priority recommendations. The report also highlights that the microfinance sector is growing in Djibouti; however, access to financing remains very limited. A review of the Call Report forms revealed a number of inconsistencies. The report recommends that the BSU staff participate regularly in the FSI courses organized by the IMF.

The experience of many countries around the world clearly shows that while financial sector development can spur economic growth, financial fragility and instability can seriously harm growth. Following the financial crises of the late 1990s, there has been increasing interest in the systematic assessment of the strengths and weaknesses of financial systems, with the ultimate goal of formulating appropriate policies to foster financial stability, and stimulate financial sector development. Consequently, there has been an increased demand from financial sector authorities in many countries, as well as from the Bank and International Monetary Fund (IMF) staff for information on key issues, and sound practices in the assessment of financial systems, and in the design of policy responses. This Handbook of Financial Sector Assessment is a response to this demand. The Handbook presents an overall analytical framework for assessing financial system stability and developmental needs, providing broad guidance on approaches, methodologies, and techniques of assessing financial systems. Although the Handbook draws substantially on Bank and IMF experience with the financial sector assessment programs (FSAPs), and from the broader policy and operational work in both institutions, it is designed for generic use in financial sector assessments, whether conducted by country authorities themselves, or by Bank and IMF teams. It is, therefore, hoped the Handbook will serve as an authoritative source on the objectives, analytical framework, and methodologies of financial sector assessments, as well as a comprehensive reference book for training on the techniques of such assessments.

With the support of the IMF’s Asia and Pacific Department (APD) and the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP), an IMF Statistics Department (STA)’s remote financial soundness indicators (FSIs) technical assistance (TA) mission took place during April 30–May 14, 2021. The main objective of the mission was to assist the BSP in compiling FSI for the other financial corporations (OFCs) sector, in line with the 2019 Financial Soundness Indicators Compilation Guide (Guide). Specifically, the Guide recommends compiling indicators for money market funds, insurance corporations, and pension funds, as well as for the total OFC sector. The work of the mission was facilitated by the excellent collaboration of BSP’s staff, in particular of the Department of Economic Statistics (DES). The list of officials met during the mission can be found in Appendix I.

The mission conducted a diagnostic review of the financial system and proposes a Technical Assistance Roadmap (TARM) to support the authorities’ efforts to strengthen their detection of risks and vulnerabilities and to enhance capacity in financial sector oversight and development. Two modules were undertaken during this FSSR mission. The financial stability module focused on areas agreed with the NBM and NCFM during the scoping stage: financial sector oversight, financial stability (macroprudential framework, systemic risk assessment, and stress testing), financial crisis management, financial inclusion and capital markets development. The financial sector statistics module focused on key data gaps hampering financial stability analysis as well as statistical reporting to the IMF’s Statistics Department.