Republic of Belarus: Financial System Stability Assessment, including Reports on the Observance of Standards and Codes on the following topics: Banking Supervision, Payment Systems, and Anti-Money Laundering and Combating the Financing of Terrorism
IMF Staff Country Reports, June 28, 2005
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- Republic of Belarus: Financial System Stability Assessment, including Reports on the Observance of Standards and Codes on the following topics: Banking Supervision, Payment Systems, and Anti-Money Laundering and Combating the Financing of Terrorism
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Bibliographic details
- Published: June 28, 2005
- Series: IMF Staff Country Reports
- DOI: https://doi.org/10.5089/9781451805178.002
Major findings
- Significant progress has been made in upgrading the financial system’s technical infrastructure and the regulatory and supervisory framework.
- Financial sector structural reform has been slow overall.
- The centralized approach to economic management continues to dominate the financial system.
- The major banks, which are with one exception government owned or controlled, are frequently requested to lend to priority enterprises and sectors.
Structural characteristics and market structure
- Dominance of government ownership or control among major banks (all but one major bank).
- Lending directed by public priorities: banks are frequently requested to lend to priority enterprises and sectors.
- Centralized economic management shapes financial sector behavior and allocation of credit.
Regulatory and supervisory developments
- Upgrades to technical infrastructure noted.
- Strengthening of the regulatory and supervisory framework documented, though structural reform lagged behind technical and regulatory improvements.
Risks and vulnerabilities
- Implicit and explicit government influence on bank lending may create asset allocation distortions and credit risk concentration.
- Slow pace of structural reform may hinder the resilience and market-driven functioning of the financial sector.
Policy implications and recommendations (implicit in assessment)
- Advance structural reform of the financial sector to reduce dominance of centralized economic management.
- Reduce directed lending pressures on state-controlled banks to improve credit allocation and risk management.
- Continue to strengthen regulatory and supervisory capacity alongside modernization of technical infrastructure.
IMF Staff Country Report No. 2005/216, June 28, 2005.
Content in this bundle
- _cr05216 — Executive Summary and Selected Findings
- untitled