Over the summer, financial markets weakened substantially as some of the risks that had built up during a period of easy financing, in particular in the housing market, materialised. Volatility has increased, and while equity markets have regained ...

The paper looks at financial market innovation and how it has led to the rapid growth of structured products. It explores the mechanisms that come into play as assets inside these products (mortgages, credit card receivables, etc.) suffer losses ...

There has been rapid growth in the share of assets under control of hedge funds over the past decade and, as a result, these entities have now become firmly entrenched in the universe of investment vehicles and, in turn, have themselves become ...

This report addresses the issue of how some institutional investors in Latin America have been working to encourage better corporate governance in the companies in which they invest, and what further policy initiatives and practices may be desirable ...

Collective pension funds (CPFs) – occupational pension funds that cover the employees of more than one employer (enterprise) – have been operating in OECD countries for decades. Generally speaking, there are two models, i.e. closed pension funds ...

India’s financial sector has become much more diversified, with capital markets playing an increasingly important role. These markets have been substantially deregulated and, recent changes notwithstanding, many restrictions on capital flows have ...

The demand for long-dated bonds has increased, driven by stricter asset-liability matching regulations governing pension funds, new international accounting standards, as well as new risk-based regulations for insurance companies. In several ...