Gabon : Financial Sector Assessment

The report is a joint International Monetary Fund IMF-World Bank Financial Sector Assessment Program (FSAP), which examined Gabon's macroeconomic and financial context, and identified its financial soundness, as well as vulnerabilities. The country's financial sector is overall, profitable and stable, though still relatively underdeveloped. Banks - which dominate the financial sector - find their activities and growth potential, limited by the size of the non-oil economy, given that financing of the oil sector is largely undertaken outside the country. While the government retains a strong role in the financial sector, as owner and as client, through public enterprises, solvency levels in some of the banks are close to the forthcoming regulatory minimum of eight percent (effective in 2004).This risk is enhanced by the banking sector's portfolio concentration. Moreover, fiscal problems have in the past had direct, and indirect negative repercussions on the performance of the financial sector. The report further analyzes the legal, regulatory and supervisory issues, stating the judicial system is deficient, enhancing risks and costs of doing business, including for the financial sector, while the insurance market is for the most part, stagnant, and lacking product innovation. Recommendations for legal and judicial issues include a strengthened framework that enables transparency, including predictability in the disposition of financial sector litigation; and, recommendations for the financial sector development suggest pursuing adequate risk diversification strategies; merging with regional stock exchanges; and, identifying financial mechanisms to establish a micro-finance sector.

Bibliographic Details

Main Author:	World Bank
Language:	English en_US
Published:	Washington, DC 2003-04
Subjects:	ACCOUNTING, ASSET DIVERSIFICATION, AUTHORITY, BANK ACCOUNTS, BANKING SECTOR, BANKING STRUCTURE, BANKING SUPERVISION, BANKING SYSTEM, BANKRUPTCY, BANKS, BROKERS, CAPITAL ADEQUACY, CAPITAL MARKETS, CAPITAL REQUIREMENTS, CAPITALIZATION, CENTRAL BANK, CIVIL SERVICE, COMMERCIAL BANKS, CONFLICT OF INTERESTS, CONSUMER PROTECTION, DEPOSITS, EMPLOYMENT, ENACTMENT, ENTREPRENEURSHIP, EXCHANGE RATE, EXPENDITURE, FINANCIAL ASSETS, FINANCIAL DIFFICULTIES, FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS, FINANCIAL INTERMEDIATION, FINANCIAL SECTOR, FINANCIAL SECTOR DEVELOPMENT, FINANCIAL SERVICES, FINANCIAL SYSTEM, FINANCIAL SYSTEMS, FINANCIAL VIABILITY, FISCAL, FISCAL POLICY, FISCAL PROBLEMS, FISCAL REVENUES, FOREIGN BANKS, FOREIGN EXCHANGE, FORESTRY, GOVERNMENT OWNERSHIP, GOVERNMENT REVENUES, INCOME, INSURANCE, INSURANCE MARKETS, INTERNATIONALIZATION, JUDICIARY, LACK OF CLARITY, LACK OF COMPETITION, LAWS, LEGISLATION, LEGISLATIVE FRAMEWORK, LIQUIDATION, LIQUIDITY, LITIGATION, MARKET RISK, MICROFINANCE, MORAL HAZARD, OIL, OIL SECTOR, OPERATIONAL RISKS, PAYMENTS ARREARS, PENSIONS, POLITICAL CONSENSUS, PRESIDENCY, PRIVATIZATION, PRIVATIZATION OF STATE, PROFITABILITY, PUBLIC DEBT, PUBLIC ENTERPRISES, PUBLIC FINANCES, PUBLIC SECTOR, REGULATORY FRAMEWORK, SAVINGS, SECURITIES, SOCIAL SECURITY, SOLVENCY, STATE ENTERPRISES, STATE OWNERSHIP, STOCK EXCHANGES, SUBSIDIARIES, SUPERVISORY AUTHORITIES, TRANSPARENCY, VULNERABILITY FINANCIAL SECTOR, BANKING SYSTEMS, FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT, GOVERNMENT ROLE, STATE OWNED ENTERPRISES, BANKING REGULATIONS, RISK MANAGEMENT, FISCAL CONSTRAINTS, LEGAL & REGULATORY FRAMEWORK, SUPERVISORY STRUCTURES, JUDICIAL ADMINISTRATION, BUSINESS ENVIRONMENT, INSURANCE INDUSTRY, INSTITUTIONAL CAPACITY, RISK DIVERSIFICATION, STOCK MARKETS, REGIONAL INTEGRATION,
Online Access:	http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/2003/04/2224540/gabon-financial-sector-assessment https://hdl.handle.net/10986/14347
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