Publication: El Salvador Financial Sector Assessment Development Module
Loading...
Published
2016-11
ISSN
Date
2017-03-07
Author(s)
Editor(s)
Abstract
This Financial Sector Assessment (FSA) summarizes the developmental aspects of the 2016 FSAP report for the Republic of El Salvador. A World Bank mission visited San Salvador from March 6 to 16, 2016 to review the developmental aspects of the Financial Sector Assessment Program (FSAP) conducted in 2010.1 As previously agreed with the authorities, this FSAP Development Module focused on (i) financial systems issues, including competition and efficiency; (ii) financial inclusion and non-bank financial institution issues, (iii) public sector banks, (iv) financial system infrastructure, including payments, remittances transfers, and credit information systems; (v) capital market and private pensions development issues; and (vi) insurance. The report summarizes the diagnostic findings, progress made since the last FSAP, and recommendations for further regulatory, institutional and market development actions. The executive summary, following next, lists the main highlights and conclusions of this FSAP mission.
Link to Data Set
Citation
“World Bank. 2016. El Salvador Financial Sector Assessment Development Module. © World Bank. http://hdl.handle.net/10986/26218 License: CC BY 3.0 IGO.”
Digital Object Identifier
Associated URLs
Associated content
Other publications in this report series
Journal
Journal Volume
Journal Issue
Collections
Related items
Showing items related by metadata.
Publication El Salvador - Financial sector assessment(World Bank, 2010-11-01)Despite the global and domestic shocks of 2008-2009, the banking sector remains sound. Salvadoran banks were not directly exposed to the global financial crisis. However, the parent banks of several major Salvadoran banks were and directed subsidiaries to conserve risk capital. The higher risk aversion and recession in the United States, combined with uncertainty about the 2009 elections, led to a sharp economic downturn, and a decline in both credit demand and supply. Banks' nonperforming loans increased and profitability declined. Even so, capitalization remained high. Stress tests indicate that most banks would be able to withstand large deposit withdraws and severe deterioration in credit quality arising from large macroeconomic or sectoral shocks. However, credit concentration risks appear significant. Regulated non-bank financial institutions do not pose significant risks, but pension funds' poor profitability is a concern for the long-term. Regulated cooperative banks and insurance companies report healthy financial indicators. Brokerage houses have reduced drastically their fund management activities, which until recently posed systemic risks due to inadequate regulations and unsound commercial practices. Pension funds have grown considerably and now amount to 25 percent of total financial sector assets. However, investments are mostly in low-yielding public sector securities. To ensure a sound financial footing for the pension system, an in-depth actuarial analysis should evaluate pension reform costs and calculate replacement rates. The type of investments available to pension funds should be expanded progressively to increase diversification, improve returns and foster capital markets.Publication El Salvador Financial Sector Assessment Program Update(Washington, DC, 2010-11)The capital markets in Salvador are small and relatively underdeveloped, and have played a very limited role in the economy. On average, institutional investors invest less than 10 percent of their total assets in capital market instruments. In 2009, there were only five new issuances of corporate bonds and three in the case of equity. Banks and pension funds are the main institutional investors. The current market architecture and the natural monopoly it grants to the exchange hamper market development and prevent the modernization of the regulatory framework. There is an urgent need to overhaul of the regulatory framework to promote sound market development in the short-to-medium term. The regulatory framework should guarantee a level playing field between bonds and bank deposits, which should be reflected in the investment guidelines for institutional investors. The exchange should reposition itself to become more competitive and strategic at the local and regional level. The investment funds law should be finally approved to broaden and diversify the investor base. The importance of this reform is paramount as the current reliance on just two main institutional investors (banks and pension funds), with investment limitations (35 percent each per issue), creates a major limitation for new issuances. In the medium -to long- run, it is recommended to explore gradually integrating the individual markets at the regional level. This paper is divided into following four parts: part one gives current market situation; part two gives regulatory and supervisory framework; part three gives recommendations; and part four is reference section.Publication El Salvador Financial Sector Assessment Program Update(Washington, DC, 2010-11)Payment systems are a core part of all financial systems. The quality of payment systems determines the stability of the overall economy, the efficiency and reliability of financial intermediation, and the possibility for the private sector to innovate and provide new services to consumers. This technical note presents the results of the assessment of payments, remittances, and securities settlement processes in El Salvador, based on international standards and best practices. It includes several observations for the improvement of the National Payments System (NPS) in El Salvador. This note takes into account the peculiarities of the jurisdiction of El Salvador: namely, the relatively small size of the financial system and the dollarized nature of the economy. The central bank and other institutions are already planning appropriate actions on many of the issues discussed. In some cases, however, the team identified additional elements, which are discussed in this note.Publication El Salvador Financial Sector Assessment Program Development Module(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2016-11)This note was prepared in the context of a World Bank Financial Sector Assessment Program (FSAP) mission in El Salvador in March 2016. Since the last FSAP, the national payments system (NPS) has consolidated and expanded. The real-time gross settlement (RTGS) systems owned and operated by the Banco Central de Reserva de El Salvador (BCR) is the backbone of the NPS and is widely subscribed by both banks and supervised non-bank financial institutions. In 2013, the BCR launched a service for government disbursements called Sistema de Pagos Masivos (SPM). ATM and POS terminal deployment in El Salvador is below the average for the Latin America and the Caribbean, but above the average for lower-middle income countries. Notwithstanding these positive developments, the payments system remains exposed to certain risks and presents areas of inefficiency that the BCR aims to address comprehensively and in stages through a revised national payment system strategy. The note contains technical analysis and detailed information underpinning the FSAP assessment’s findings and recommendations. Further information on the FSAP program can be found at www.worldbank.org/fsap.Publication Bolivia Financial Sector Notes : Assessing the Sector's Potential Role in Fostering Rural Development and Growth of the Productive Sectors(Washington, DC, 2011-12)Bolivia benefited from an overall favorable economic evolution in the last few years, supported by sound macro-economic indicators. Yet, economic growth was unevenly distributed between the sectors, with particularly extractive industries, construction and financial services showing higher real growth rates, while agriculture and manufacturing fell behind. This is an area of concern for the government which-as manifested in the new constitution-aims to foster a more balanced and equitable growth. In its reform measures, it places a particular focus on developing the rural areas, in which a large share of the indigenous population lives, and on the productive sector (agriculture, forestry, manufacturing and extractive), which provides the livelihood for a substantial number of poor people. This paper aims to contribute to the discussion and on-going reform efforts by providing an evaluation of the role the financial system could play for enhancing growth in rural areas and the productive sector without threatening the sector's stability. It also endeavors to update the Bank's knowledge on the financial sector, assess its current role and recent developments, and determine possible vulnerabilities as well as core bottlenecks for the outreach to underserved segments of the population and economy. However, the government needs to strike a fine balance in its policy measures to foster outreach and credit in order to not unduly lower the profitability in the financial sector, jeopardize the quality of the loan portfolio and as a result introduce vulnerability in an otherwise sound system. In particular, the strong push towards financing of the productive sector at comparatively low interest rates, can lead to over-indebtedness of the clients or a deterioration of the repayment culture, if lending institutions expanding their loan portfolios do not maintain (or introduce) prudent lending
Users also downloaded
Showing related downloaded files
Publication World Development Report 2011(World Bank, 2011)The 2011 World development report looks across disciplines and experiences drawn from around the world to offer some ideas and practical recommendations on how to move beyond conflict and fragility and secure development. The key messages are important for all countries-low, middle, and high income-as well as for regional and global institutions: first, institutional legitimacy is the key to stability. When state institutions do not adequately protect citizens, guard against corruption, or provide access to justice; when markets do not provide job opportunities; or when communities have lost social cohesion-the likelihood of violent conflict increases. Second, investing in citizen security, justice, and jobs is essential to reducing violence. But there are major structural gaps in our collective capabilities to support these areas. Third, confronting this challenge effectively means that institutions need to change. International agencies and partners from other countries must adapt procedures so they can respond with agility and speed, a longer-term perspective, and greater staying power. Fourth, need to adopt a layered approach. Some problems can be addressed at the country level, but others need to be addressed at a regional level, such as developing markets that integrate insecure areas and pooling resources for building capacity Fifth, in adopting these approaches, need to be aware that the global landscape is changing. Regional institutions and middle income countries are playing a larger role. This means should pay more attention to south-south and south-north exchanges, and to the recent transition experiences of middle income countries.Publication South Asia Development Update, April 2025: Taxing Times(Washington, DC: World Bank, 2025-04-23)Growth prospects for South Asia have dimmed. The global economic environment has become more challenging and is a source of heightened downside risks. After a decade of repeated disruptions, South Asia’s buffers to cushion new shocks are slim. Tackling some of its greatest inefficiencies and vulnerabilities could help South Asia navigate this unusually uncertain outlook: unproductive agricultural sectors, dependence on energy imports, pressures from rising global temperatures, and fragile fiscal positions. For most South Asian countries, increased revenue mobilization is a prerequisite for strengthening fiscal positions. Even taking into account the particular challenges of collecting taxes in South Asian economies—such as widespread informal economic activity and large agriculture sectors—South Asian economies face larger tax gaps than the average emerging market and developing economy (EMDE). This suggests the need for improved tax policy and administration. Until fiscal positions have strengthened, the burden of climate adaptation will disproportionately fall on the private sector. If allowed sufficient flexibility, private sector adaptation could offset about one-third of the likely climate damage by 2050. This may, however, require governments to remove obstacles that prevent workers and firms from moving across locations and activities. As growth prospects dim, the challenge grows to create jobs for South Asia’s rapidly expanding working-age population. South Asia’s large diasporas could become a source of strength if their knowledge, networks, and other resources can be better tapped for investment and trade.Publication World Bank Annual Report 2024(Washington, DC: World Bank, 2024-10-25)This annual report, which covers the period from July 1, 2023, to June 30, 2024, has been prepared by the Executive Directors of both the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD) and the International Development Association (IDA)—collectively known as the World Bank—in accordance with the respective bylaws of the two institutions. Ajay Banga, President of the World Bank Group and Chairman of the Board of Executive Directors, has submitted this report, together with the accompanying administrative budgets and audited financial statements, to the Board of Governors.Publication Digital Africa(Washington, DC: World Bank, 2023-03-13)All African countries need better and more jobs for their growing populations. "Digital Africa: Technological Transformation for Jobs" shows that broader use of productivity-enhancing, digital technologies by enterprises and households is imperative to generate such jobs, including for lower-skilled people. At the same time, it can support not only countries’ short-term objective of postpandemic economic recovery but also their vision of economic transformation with more inclusive growth. These outcomes are not automatic, however. Mobile internet availability has increased throughout the continent in recent years, but Africa’s uptake gap is the highest in the world. Areas with at least 3G mobile internet service now cover 84 percent of Africa’s population, but only 22 percent uses such services. And the average African business lags in the use of smartphones and computers as well as more sophisticated digital technologies that catalyze further productivity gains. Two issues explain the usage gap: affordability of these new technologies and willingness to use them. For the 40 percent of Africans below the extreme poverty line, mobile data plans alone would cost one-third of their incomes—in addition to the price of access devices, apps, and electricity. Data plans for small- and medium-size businesses are also more expensive than in other regions. Moreover, shortcomings in the quality of internet services—and in the supply of attractive, skills-appropriate apps that promote entrepreneurship and raise earnings—dampen people’s willingness to use them. For those countries already using these technologies, the development payoffs are significant. New empirical studies for this report add to the rapidly growing evidence that mobile internet availability directly raises enterprise productivity, increases jobs, and reduces poverty throughout Africa. To realize these and other benefits more widely, Africa’s countries must implement complementary and mutually reinforcing policies to strengthen both consumers’ ability to pay and willingness to use digital technologies. These interventions must prioritize productive use to generate large numbers of inclusive jobs in a region poised to benefit from a massive, youthful workforce—one projected to become the world’s largest by the end of this century.Publication Classroom Assessment to Support Foundational Literacy(Washington, DC: World Bank, 2025-03-21)This document focuses primarily on how classroom assessment activities can measure students’ literacy skills as they progress along a learning trajectory towards reading fluently and with comprehension by the end of primary school grades. The document addresses considerations regarding the design and implementation of early grade reading classroom assessment, provides examples of assessment activities from a variety of countries and contexts, and discusses the importance of incorporating classroom assessment practices into teacher training and professional development opportunities for teachers. The structure of the document is as follows. The first section presents definitions and addresses basic questions on classroom assessment. Section 2 covers the intersection between assessment and early grade reading by discussing how learning assessment can measure early grade reading skills following the reading learning trajectory. Section 3 compares some of the most common early grade literacy assessment tools with respect to the early grade reading skills and developmental phases. Section 4 of the document addresses teacher training considerations in developing, scoring, and using early grade reading assessment. Additional issues in assessing reading skills in the classroom and using assessment results to improve teaching and learning are reviewed in section 5. Throughout the document, country cases are presented to demonstrate how assessment activities can be implemented in the classroom in different contexts.