Portugal: Third Review Under the Extended Arrangement and Request for Waiver of Applicability of End-March Performance Criteria: Staff Report; Staff Statement; Press Release on the Executive Board Discussion; and Statement by the Executive Director for Portugal
IMF Staff Country Reports, April 5, 2012
Source details
- Canonical URL
- Portugal: Third Review Under the Extended Arrangement and Request for Waiver of Applicability of End-March Performance Criteria: Staff Report; Staff Statement; Press Release on the Executive Board Discussion; and Statement by the Executive Director for Portugal
Other formats
Bibliographic details
- Published: April 5, 2012
- Series: IMF Staff Country Reports
- DOI: https://doi.org/10.5089/9781475503067.002
Program context and procedural actions
- Third review under the extended arrangement and request for waiver of applicability of end-March performance criteria.
- Publication date: April 5, 2012.
- Series and identifiers:
- Pages: 129
- Volume: 2012
- Issue: 077
- Country Report No.: 2012/077
- DOI: https://doi.org/10.5089/9781475503067.002
- Stock No: 1PRTEA2012001
- ISBN: 9781475503067
- ISSN: 1934-7685
Fiscal, structural, and market reforms reported
- Government measures initiated:
- Labor market reforms.
- Privatizations.
- Telecom sector liberalization.
- Improved competition framework.
- Keywords signaling focus areas: ambitious product market, privatization program, government payables, government debt management, Fiscal stance.
Competitiveness and external balance developments
- Competitiveness indicators:
- Showing some signs of improvement.
- Wages declining in some sectors.
- External position:
- Sizable improvement in the current account deficit in 2011.
Financial sector conditions and adjustment
- Banking system characteristics and developments:
- Continues to be heavily reliant on euro system funding.
- The required adjustment in banks’ balance sheets has started.
- Subject tags reflecting scope: Banking, Credit, External debt, Financial institutions, Loans, Money, Public debt.
Staff and policy implications highlighted
- Focus of the staff report and related documents:
- Staff Report, Staff Statement, Press Release on the Executive Board Discussion, and Statement by the Executive Director for Portugal.
- Policy priorities implied by the content:
- Advance structural reforms (labor market, product markets, competition) to support competitiveness gains.
- Continue privatization and liberalization measures to improve market dynamism.
- Support banking-sector balance sheet adjustment while managing reliance on euro system funding.
- Monitor external adjustment following the sizable improvement in the current account deficit in 2011.
International Monetary Fund. Portugal: Third Review Under the Extended Arrangement and Request for Waiver of Applicability of End-March Performance Criteria: Staff Report; Staff Statement; Press Release on the Executive Board Discussion; and Statement by the Executive Director for Portugal. IMF Staff Country Reports 2012, 077 (2012).