Islamic Republic of Mauritania: Selected Issues
IMF Staff Country Reports, December 20, 2024
Source details
- Canonical URL
- Islamic Republic of Mauritania: Selected Issues
Other formats
Bibliographic details
- Published: December 20, 2024
- Series: IMF Staff Country Reports
- DOI: https://doi.org/10.5089/9798400296963.002
Executive summary and key findings
- The Mauritanian banking sector is highly profitable but fails to facilitate broader financial services and access, resulting in limited contribution to economic growth and inclusion.
- Major factors behind these macro-level outcomes:
- Prevalence of family-owned banks.
- Lack of trust.
- Weak governance.
- Insufficient institutions.
- Institutional weaknesses and market structure together constrain financial intermediation and inclusion.
Financial sector development analysis
- From a financial sector development perspective:
- Mauritania would be better off with a consolidated banking sector with stronger, more resilient institutions.
- Fewer universal banks with robust provisioning frameworks are better equipped to manage credit risks, thereby increasing their capacity to lend to a broader range of private-sector actors.
- From the institutional perspective:
- Existing financial infrastructure institutions need to be strengthened.
- New financial infrastructure institutions need to be established.
Policy recommendations and regulatory measures
- Consolidation:
- Encourage consolidation toward fewer, larger universal banks with robust provisioning frameworks to improve credit-risk management and broaden private-sector lending.
- Institutional strengthening:
- Strengthen existing financial infrastructure institutions.
- Establish missing institutions needed to support financial sector development and inclusion.
- Supervision and governance:
- Implement forceful banking supervision with strong information systems.
- Use enhanced supervision and information systems to monitor and mitigate connected lending practices prevalent among many family-owned banks.
Subjects and keywords
- Subject: Credit, Economic sectors, Financial inclusion, Financial markets, Financial sector, Financial sector development, Financial services, Money
- Keywords: bank Private-Sector, banks' provision, Credit, credit to GDP, Efficiency-Access and Depth Gap, Financial inclusion, Financial sector, Financial sector development, intermediation proxy, North Africa
Content in this bundle
- Islamic Republic of Mauritania: Selected Issues; IMF Country Report No. 24/363; November 27, 2024