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Periodic Essay
China’s interest rate liberalization reform
This Asia Focus report explains the importance of interest rate liberalization in China, reviews historical progress and current efforts made to date, and discusses the potential impact on the banking sector.
Periodic Essay
Shadow banking in China: expanding scale, evolving structure
This Asia Focus provides an overview of shadow banking activities in China, their close ties with banks, reasons behind their rapid rise, the range of participants and products, and regulatory issues.
Periodic Essay
The Changing Face of Shadow Banking in China
The growth of China?s nonbank financial institutions, which engage heavily in shadow banking , has been extraordinary over the past decade. During this period, China?s shadow banking system not only engaged in aggressive regulatory arbitrage but also started to embrace financial innovations and capital market financing against the backdrop of broad financial reforms. Its emergence and transformation are intertwined with a substantial increase in depth and complexity of China?s financial system, which post new regulatory challenges. The growing importance of shadow banking in China makes a ...
Periodic Essay
Islamic finance in Asia: recent developments and regulatory issues
With nearly two-thirds of the world?s Muslim population, Asia plays an important role in Islamic finance. The industry has experienced solid growth in the region in recent years due to robust demand for Shariah-compliant financial products as well as national governments? efforts to support the development of Islamic financial markets. This Asia Focus examines the size and growth of Islamic finance, reviews recent reports and studies on the industry, discusses key benefits and regulatory challenges, and summarizes recent developments in Asia.
Periodic Essay
Taiwan’s banking sector reforms: retrospective and outlook
The Taiwanese banking system has evolved significantly since the government amended the Banking Law in 1989 to promote internationalization and liberalization of the banking sector. Private banks now play a significant role in the financial system and many state-owned banks have been partially privatized. Despite much progress, Taiwan?s banking sector is marked by low profitability and excessive competition that are potential threats to the long-term health and stability of the financial system. This Asia Focus outlines the history of financial and banking reforms in Taiwan, analyzes problems ...