11-June-2009
English, , 563kb
This article looks at the stages of crisis management and some of the different degrees of transparency on losses and risks in the US and Europe. It also compares alternative approaches to dealing with impaired assets used in the USA and Europe. Exposure to off-balance losses remains a key issue. Europe, surprisingly, has been and remains the major issuer of collateralised synthetic obligations that have been so prominent in the
18-May-2009
English, , 672kb
Government provision of a safety net for financial institutions has been a key element of the policy response to the current crisis. In the process, existing guarantees have been expanded and new ones introduced, including, in particular, in relation to bank liabilities. Among other things, such guarantees create costs that arise as a result of potential distortions of incentives and competition. To limit such distortions it is
6-May-2009
English, , 600kb
Building a workable framework for international investment policy requires developing a mutually-understood vocabulary for key policy terms. This fact-finding study, prepared in support of discussions at a March 2009 “Freedom of Investment” Roundtable hosted at the OECD, explores the meaning of three terms – essential security interests, public order and national security – that are used frequently in international policy dialogue,
5-May-2009
English, , 4,907kb
In the wake of a dramatic financial crisis and with the first waves of baby boomers approaching retirement we hardly need to think about how best arrive at the pension funds’ payout phase. This paper argues that there is a urgent need to raise retirement saving, to reduce defined contribution plan members’ exposure to investment risks and to provide the financial industry with cheap and safe payout instruments. These challenges are
21-April-2009
English, , 309kb
The present crisis, the deepest and most widespread in our lifetimes, is causing economic hardship worldwide. This paper reviews the experience of earlier crises – whether national, international or sectoral – to understand better both the nature of the various investment policy responses and their implications for international investment and long-term sustainable growth. These policy responses are then compared with recent measures