Country Reports
2023
April 24, 2023
Guatemala: Technical Assistance Report-International Taxation Challenges and Options
Description: In response to a request by the Ministry of Public Finance (MFP) of Guatemala, a remote technical assistance mission was carried out by the Fiscal Affairs Department (FAD) of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) from March 7 to 21, 2022, to analyze certain international aspects of the country’s tax regime. Discussions focused on treaties for the avoidance of double taxation and their effectiveness in attracting foreign direct investment, transfer pricing regulations, and the implications for Guatemala of the minimum standards agreed by the tax base erosion and profit shifting (BEPS) project backed by the G20 and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD).
April 24, 2023
Morocco: Request for an Arrangement Under the Flexible Credit Line-Press Release; Staff Report; and Statement by the Executive Director for Morocco
Description: After a robust post-pandemic recovery in 2021, another severe drought and spillovers from Russia’s invasion of Ukraine slowed growth and raised inflation in 2022. The authorities’ policy response has been very strong, with fiscal, monetary, and financial policies appropriately calibrated to preserve macroeconomic stability while protecting the most vulnerable from the impact of the shocks. In addition, the authorities have accelerated the implementation of the vast program of structural reforms needed to make growth stronger, more resilient, and more inclusive. and made progress in further strengthening their institutional policy frameworks.
April 21, 2023
Jordan: Financial Sector Assessment Program-Financial System Stability Assessment
Description: The banking sector dominates Jordan’s financial system, and its strength is essential to support macroeconomic stability and the peg to the U.S. dollar. The authorities have implemented measures to enhance the system’s resilience and oversight since the 2008–09 FSAP, allowing it to withstand large shocks (Global Financial Crisis, Arab Spring, war in Syria and influx of refugees, COVID-19). Global growth headwinds, high energy and food prices as well as sharply rising interest rates are pressuring nonfinancial sector balance sheets.
April 20, 2023
Sweden: Financial Sector Assessment Program–Technical Note on Basel Core Principles for Effective Banking Supervision
Description: Since the last financial Sector Assessment Program (FSAP) in 2016, the authorities have adopted a number of regulatory reforms to enhance the resilience of the Swedish financial system. The key changes to the legal framework for banks and banking supervision in Sweden have mainly been a direct result of legal initiatives at European Union (EU) level.
April 20, 2023
Suriname: Technical Assistance Report-Medium-Term Macro-Fiscal Forecasting
Description: This TA report summarizes the context, mission findings, and way forward for CARTAC’s provision of TA support to Suriname’s Economic Affairs Department (within the Ministry of Finance and Planning). A new medium-term macro-fiscal forecasting framework (MTFF) will be developed via several TA missions, and will focus on linking high-level revenue and expenditure projections to projections of macroeconomic determinants. In addition, a clear and transparent method of entering the effect of policy changes on these projections, and the contribution of any ‘one-off’ factors to projected revenues or expenditures, will be a key feature of the tool. Finally, training, through hands-on exercises using Surinamese data, will play an important role in supporting the development and ultimate adoption of the MTFF.
April 20, 2023
Union of the Comoros: Second Review Under the Staff-Monitored Program-Press Release; and Staff Report
Description: Comoros is a small, fragile island state (population: 850,000) with low and shock-prone growth. A Staff-Monitored Program (SMP) has been in place since July 2021. Policies aimed to: (i) contain and recover from the COVID-19 pandemic; and (ii) start implementing reforms to overcome fragility, boost inclusive growth, and limit risks. The first review assessed implementation through end-September 2021 as satisfactory and rescheduled three structural benchmarks that needed more time from end-December 2021 to end-February 2022. This second (and final) review assessed implementation of end-December 2021 and end-February 2022 quantitative targets and structural benchmarks, as well as overall policy implementation under the SMP.
April 19, 2023
Republic of North Macedonia: Informational Annex
Description: The Bank and the Fund country teams on the Republic of North Macedonia maintain close collaboration, seeking synergies and harmonizing policy recommendations. The teams broadly agree in their assessment of the economic situation in the country.
April 11, 2023
St. Lucia: Technical Assistance Report-Remote National Accounts Mission
Description: A remote mission to the National Accounts Department (NAD) of Saint Lucia supported the development of rebased estimates of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) by expenditure. The mission compiled a candidate methodology for all components of the expenditure, covering current and constant price series for both annual and quarterly estimates of GDP. The new estimates will be benchmarked from the last Supply and Use Table from 2016. The method will replace the previous approach which was only compiled annually in current prices – which was last published in 2018.
April 5, 2023
Sweden: Financial Sector Assessment Program–Technical Note on Central Bank Digital Currency and Fintech
Description: The Swedish economy is characterized by high adoption of digital services in the financial sector, as shown by a thriving Fintech sector, and the ongoing analysis on whether to issue a Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC). This technical note looks at the systemic risks stemming from the potential issuance of CBDC in Sweden, as well as the growing significance of the Fintech sector. This note does not evaluate the benefits of CBDC, or the Fintech sector.
April 5, 2023
Sweden: Financial Sector Assessment Program–Technical Note on Cybersecurity Risk Supervision and Oversight
Description: Sweden's financial sector is highly digitalized and interconnected, and related technological developments heighten cyber threats and vulnerabilities. The cyber threat landscape has evolved, with many Swedish financial institutions victims of Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attacks. Wider, more destructive attacks are likely in the near future.