Resources

This paper discusses Islamic banking products and interprets them in the context of financial intermediation theory. Anecdotal evidence shows that many of the conventional products can be redrafted as Sharia- compliant products, so that the differences are smaller than...Read More

The paper investigates the efficiency of the Islamic banking sectors in 16 MENA and Asian countries during the period of 2001-2006. The efficiency estimates of individual banks are evaluated using the non-parametric Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) method. The results...Read More

This note draws on guidelines recently published by the OECD and the Basel Committee for Banking Supervision to compile a comprehensive corporate governance evaluation framework relevant to state-owned commercial and development finance institutions.  It highlights...Read More

This publication is the first regional report published by the Sanabel Network under its industry support services, intended to provide a comprehensive overview on the state of the microfi- nance sector in the Arab Region. The report draws from Sanabel – The...Read More

The role of the Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME) sector cannot be over emphasized in terms of its contribution to GDP and employment generation, particularly in emerging economies. Studies indicate that formal SMEs contribute up to 45 percent of employment...Read More

This paper reviews the design of partial credit guarantee schemes in MENA, and assesses their preliminary outcomes. The paper is based on a survey conducted in 10 MENA countries in early 2010. The authors find that the average size of guarantee schemes in MENA (...Read More

This paper analyzes the experience of four state financial institutions that have performed relatively well in the past: Canada’s Business Development Bank, Chile’s BancoEstado, South Africa’s Development Bank of Southern Africa, and Finland’s Finnvera plc. The author...Read More

The objective of this paper is to report the results of a joint survey of the Union of Arab Banks and the World Bank (henceforth the MENA survey), including not only the bank responses but also the statistical analysis of the dataset.  The MENA survey was conducted...Read More

This report contributes to the effort to improve MENA’s growth and employment performance by providing a diagnostic of MENA’s financial systems and proposing a roadmap for more diversified, competitive, and inclusive financial systems. The report recognizes the need to...Read More

The paper provides an assessment of the state of financial inclusion in the MENA region, and identifies constraints, opportunities, and priorities for significantly improving access to finance. Practical recommendations for improving financial inclusion are outlined. Read More