Month: February 2024

The globalization of financial risk: How ETFs make local markets less local

The growth of passively managed and exchange-traded funds (ETFs) has been a notable recent development in fund management. The assets held by ETFs have increased even more rapidly than those of the industry, and now account for more than 20% of the…

Sterilized asset purchase program, a new policy tool to combat sudden stops

Central bankers in emerging market and developing economies (EMDEs) have been seeking policy tools other than the traditional interest rate policy. The reason is that these economies are vulnerable to financial disruptions due to sharp reversals in capital inflows, known…

How green financial sector reform can help drive decarbonization

Green Financial Sector Interventions (GFSIs) are financial policies, regulations, and instruments that governments can use to direct private finance away from high-carbon investments and toward more climate-smart — or green — investment. This shift provides needed funding for climate action…

Is Central Bank Digital Currency the right tool to expand financial inclusion?

Despite improvement over the last decade, financial inclusion in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region remains relatively low. According to the Global Findex, only 53% of adults in MENA have an account (including mobile money) as of 2021, up from…

The role of family networks in first credit access

Getting a bank loan for the first time enables an individual to enter a virtuous lending circle. This loan allows obtaining credit reports, which will be used by the bank and its competitors to analyze new credit requirements from then…

Finance

Climate Change Regulations: Bank Lending and Real Effects

Climate risks and climate policies are expected to have a major impact on the financial system. In recent years, financial authorities have required banks to embed climate risks into their risk management frameworks, including in their Internal Capital Adequacy Assessment…

Finance

Sub-Saharan Africa: the financial gender gap between men and women

Although it is a factor in financial inclusion and development, the growth of mobile banking in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) has nonetheless gone hand in hand with a growing gender gap in financial inclusion. This unexpected consequence of financial digitalisation calls…

Banks’ physical footprint and financial technology adoption

The financial industry has undergone several changes in recent years: the emergence of new technologies, the entry of fintechs, and the transition from a physical branch- based business model to an increasing reliance on digital services. These trends can foster…

Knock at the Cabin review: M. Night Shyamalan goes dystopian in the woods

What fresh apocalypse is this? In a world already acutely attuned to end-times, it’s increasingly hard to keep track of all the fictional dystopias that books and movies and TV shows seem so eager to throw at us like Mardi…

Magic Mike’s Last Dance review: In God we thrust

To strip, perchance to dream; such were the humble hopes of Channing Tatum’s “Magic” Mike Lane when this all began. And what the first film delivered back in 2012 was a kind of movie magic: a scrappy, scampish novelty about…