Choose an application

• Reference Manager
• EndNote
• RefWorks (Direct export to RefWorks)

Stress testing is a useful and increasingly popular, yet sometimes misunderstood, method of analyzing the resilience of financial systems to adverse events. This paper aims to help demystify stress tests and illustrate their strengths and weaknesses. Using an Excel-based template with institution-specific data, readers are walked through the basics of liability valuation and stress testing of assets and liabilities of a typical defined benefit plan.

Pensions --- Compensation --- Pension plans --- Retirement pensions --- Superannuation --- Retirement income --- Annuities --- Social security individual investment accounts --- Vested benefits --- Econometric models. --- State supervision --- Banks and Banking --- Finance: General --- Insurance --- Labor --- Retirement --- Retirement Policies --- Nonwage Labor Costs and Benefits --- Private Pensions --- Insurance Companies --- Actuarial Studies --- Financial Institutions and Services: Government Policy and Regulation --- Interest Rates: Determination, Term Structure, and Effects --- Labour --- income economics --- Finance --- Insurance & actuarial studies --- Stress testing --- Discount rates --- Financial risk management --- Discount --- Canada --- Income economics

Choose an application

• Reference Manager
• EndNote
• RefWorks (Direct export to RefWorks)

Money market. Capital market --- Eastern and Central Europe

Choose an application

• Reference Manager
• EndNote
• RefWorks (Direct export to RefWorks)

This paper analyzes the performance and development of the Mexican pension annuity market established as a consequence of the 1997 pension reform. The Mexican experience displays interesting characteristics providing lessons for other countries that still need to design the decumulation phase of their newly established second pillars. At the same, time it raises some technical and policy concerns that need addressing as they could hamper, in the future, the healthy development of the market. The paper concludes that: 1) general life insurance companies may better hedge longevity risk than specialized annuity companies; 2) competition should be based on prices rather than additional products; 3) better disclosure of options under the 1973 and 1997 social security laws should be given to disability and life annuitants; and 4) various measures should be taken to improve asset liability management including allowing companies to trade over the counter derivatives and substituting over time the regulatory asset liability management framework with an economic asset liability management framework.

Asset liability management --- Bank Policy --- Debt Markets --- Derivatives --- Economic Theory and Research --- Emerging Markets --- Finance and Financial Sector Development --- Financial Sector Development --- Insurance and Risk Mitigation --- Liability --- Life insurance --- Life insurance companies --- Macroeconomics and Economic Growth --- Pension --- Pension reform --- Pension Reforms --- Private Sector Development

Choose an application

• Reference Manager
• EndNote
• RefWorks (Direct export to RefWorks)

This paper discusses the key sources of vulnerabilities for pension plans and insurance companies in light of the global financial crisis of 2008. It also discusses how these institutional investors transit shocks to the rest of the financial sector and economy. The crisis has re-ignited the policy debate on key issues such as: 1) the need for countercyclical funding and solvency rules; 2) the tradeoffs implied in marked based valuation rules; 3) the need to protect contributors towards retirement from excessive market volatility; 4) the need to strengthen group supervision for large complex financial institutions including insurance and pensions; and 5) the need to revisit the resolution and crisis management framework for insurance and pensions.

Global Financial Crisis, 2008-2009. --- Pensions. --- Insurance. --- Assurance (Insurance) --- Coverage, Insurance --- Indemnity insurance --- Insurance coverage --- Insurance industry --- Insurance protection --- Mutual insurance --- Underwriting --- Compensation --- Pension plans --- Retirement pensions --- Superannuation --- Global Economic Crisis, 2008-2009 --- Subprime Mortgage Crisis, 2008-2009 --- Finance --- Retirement income --- Annuities --- Social security individual investment accounts --- Vested benefits --- Financial crises --- Insurance --- Labor --- Public Finance --- Industries: Financial Services --- Pension Funds --- Non-bank Financial Institutions --- Financial Instruments --- Institutional Investors --- Nonwage Labor Costs and Benefits --- Private Pensions --- Insurance Companies --- Actuarial Studies --- Social Security and Public Pensions --- Retirement --- Retirement Policies --- Pensions --- Insurance & actuarial studies --- Labour --- income economics --- Insurance companies --- Pension spending --- United States --- Income economics

Choose an application

• Reference Manager
• EndNote
• RefWorks (Direct export to RefWorks)

This paper examines the causes, processes, and outcomes of Barbados’ 2018–19 sovereign debt restructuring—its first ever. The restructuring was comprehensive, featuring several rarely used approaches, including the restructuring of treasury bills, and the use of a retrofitted collective action mechanism. The debt restructuring has helped to set Barbados’ public debt on a clear downward trajectory. A sustained reform effort, maintaining high primary surpluses and ambitious structural reforms, will be needed to gradually reduce public debt from about 160 percent of GDP before the restructuring to the country’s 60 percent debt-to-GDP target.

Exports and Imports --- Financial Risk Management --- Investments: General --- Public Finance --- International Lending and Debt Problems --- International Financial Markets --- Debt --- Debt Management --- Sovereign Debt --- General Financial Markets: General (includes Measurement and Data) --- Finance --- Public finance & taxation --- International economics --- Investment & securities --- Debt restructuring --- Public debt --- External debt --- Domestic debt --- Treasury bills and bonds --- Asset and liability management --- Financial institutions --- Debts, External --- Debts, Public --- Government securities --- Barbados