Financial services and capital markets

Access by MSMEs to Finance in the Southern and Eastern Mediterranean: What role for credit guarantee schemes?

Micro-, small- and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) in the Southern and Eastern Mediterranean suffer from credit constraints. Given their contribution to employment and growth, similarly as in other regions, policy-makers have developed credit guarantee schemes (CGSs) in order to facilitate small companies’ access to debt capital. CGSs are risk-sharing mechanisms under which a guarantor ensures the lender against a share of the possible losses it incurs when extending a loan.

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MEDPRO TR No 35 WP6 Ayadi.pdf2.13 MB48842 days 6 hours ago
Date of publication: 
Tue, 30/04/2013
Author(s): 
Rym Ayadi, Salim Gadi
Institutions: CEPS

Financial Sector Development and Integration in the Southern and Eastern Mediterranean: Towards a long-term sustainable transition

This MEDPRO Policy Paper examines the trends and prospects in financial-sector development and integration in the southern and eastern Mediterranean countries and concludes with an agenda for a long-term sustainable transition where finance turns to be a positive stimulus to long-term growth.

Rym Ayadi is Senior Research Fellow at the Centre for European Policy Studies (CEPS) in Brussels and Coordinator of the MEDPRO project.

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MEDPRO PP No 7 WP6 Ayadi.pdf429.87 KB26791 year 3 weeks ago
Date of publication: 
Tue, 09/04/2013
Author(s): 
Rym Ayadi
Institutions: CEPS

Benchmarking the Financial Sector in the Southern and Eastern Mediterranean Countries and Projecting 2030 Financial Sector Scenarios

This paper aims at devising scenarios for the development of the financial system in the southern and eastern Mediterranean countries (SEMCs), for the 2030 horizon. The results of the simulations indicate that bank credit to the private sector, meta-efficiency and stock market turnover could reach at best 108%, 78% and 121%, respectively, if the SEMCs adopt the best practices in Europe. These scenarios are much higher than those of the present levels in the region but still lower than the best performers in Europe.

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MEDPRO TR No 31 WP6 Ayadi.pdf374.6 KB35165 days 7 hours ago
Date of publication: 
Fri, 22/03/2013
Author(s): 
Rym Ayadi, Emrah Arbak, Sami Ben-Naceur, Willem Pieter De Groen
Institutions: CEPS, FEMISE

Convergence and Integration of Banking Sector Regulations in the Euro-Mediterranean area

This analysis of regulatory convergence shows that substantial improvements have been made in the southern and eastern Mediterranean countries (SEMCs), yet they still suffer from key weaknesses in deposit insurance, entry obstacles, political interference and the strength of legal rights. In particular, deposit insurance systems in many SEMCs are not explicit, which could lead to uncertainties in the provision of support to banks in case of default.

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MEDPRO TR No 34 WP6 Ayadi.pdf384.88 KB34009 weeks 4 days ago
Date of publication: 
Tue, 19/03/2013
Author(s): 
Rym Ayadi, Emrah Arbak, Willem Pieter De Groen
Institutions: CEPS

Dynamics of Bank Efficiency in the EU and Southern Mediterranean: Is there a Convergence?

Against a background of decades of regulatory reforms aimed at fostering integration, promoting competition, efficiency and productivity growth in the financial industry, both in developed and developing countries, in this MEDPRO Technical Report the authors seek to assess the outcomes of these reform processes on the dynamics of bank efficiency – via the estimation of stochastic meta-frontiers – and convergence for a large sample of countries over the period 1997-2010.

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MEDPRO TR No 33 WP6 Casu.pdf564.37 KB29891 year 3 weeks ago
Date of publication: 
Tue, 19/03/2013
Author(s): 
Barbara Casu and Alessandra Ferrari
Institutions: CEPS

Financial Development, Bank Efficiency and Economic Growth across the Mediterranean

This MEDPRO Technical Report explores the relationship between financial sector development and economic growth, using a sample of northern and southern Mediterranean countries for the years 1985-2009. The authors included several variables to measure the development of the financial sector to account both for quantity and quality effects. The results indicate that credit to the private sector and bank deposits are negatively associated with growth, which confirms deficiencies in credit allocation in the region and suggests weak financial regulation and supervision.

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MEDPRO TR No 30 WP6 Ayadi.pdf362.57 KB69042 days 7 hours ago
Date of publication: 
Fri, 08/03/2013
Author(s): 
Rym Ayadi, Sami Ben-Naceur, Willem Pieter De Groen, Emrah Arbak
Institutions: CEPS, FEMISE

Determinants of Financial Development across the Mediterranean

Casual observation shows that that the financial systems in the southern and eastern Mediterranean are unable (or unwilling) to divert the financial resources that are available to them as funding opportunities to private enterprises. Using a sample of northern and southern Mediterranean countries for the years 1985 to 2009, this study empirically assesses the reasons underlying such conditions.

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MEDPRO TR No 29 WP6 Ayadi.pdf502.34 KB90531 year 3 weeks ago
Date of publication: 
Wed, 27/02/2013
Author(s): 
Rym Ayadi, Emrah Arbak, Sami Ben Naceur, Willem Pieter De Groen
Institutions: CEPS

The Role of Monetary Policies and Macroeconomic Convergence in the Development of Financial Systems in Southern Mediterranean Countries

This MEDPRO Technical Report shows that the monetary and exchange rate policies conducted by central banks in the South Mediterranean region display apparent homogeneity in their operational frameworks, albeit with some specificities and differing degrees of advancement.

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MEDPRO TR No 12 WP6 Mouley.pdf1.28 MB84501 week 13 hours ago
Date of publication: 
Tue, 10/04/2012
Author(s): 
Sami Mouley
Institutions: ITCEQ

Challenges arising from Capital Account Liberalisation in the Countries of the South Mediterranean Region

This MEDPRO Technical Report confirms the importance of commercial openness and macroeconomic performance (i.e. the control of inflation and stability of current account balance and exchange rate) on growth dynamics in the south Mediterranean countries. In particular, the positive impact of capital account liberalisation is conditioned by the imperative reinforcement of institutional quality, country risk reduction, and government stability.

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MEDPRO TR No 11 WP6 Mouley.pdf1.02 MB535413 hours 6 min ago
Date of publication: 
Thu, 29/03/2012
Author(s): 
Sami Mouley
Institutions: ITCEQ

Financial services and capital markets (Work Package 6)

Financial services and capital markets are at the heart of economic transition as was clearly stated at the 12th Euro-Mediterranean Conference on Economic Transition. A sound financial system can spur growth by mobilizing savings, providing funds for infrastructure development and private firms, improving the allocation of resources facilitating risk management and trade as well as enhancing corporate governance practices.