Related items
Showing items related by title, author, creator and subject.
-
Armenia : Diagnostic Review of Consumer Protection and Financial Literacy, Volume 1. Key Findings and RecommendationsThe objectives of the diagnostic review
 of consumer protection and financial literacy for Armenia
 are: (i) to assess the existing financial consumer
 protection framework, by reviewing laws, regulations and
 practices in Armenia compared to international good
 practices; and (ii) to provide recommendations on ways to
 improve consumer protection and financial literacy in
 Armenia. The review provides a detailed assessment of the
 institutional, legal and regulatory framework in four
 financial segments, namely banking, non-bank credit
 institutions, securities, and insurance. Many key steps have
 already been taken in financial consumer protection,
 especially at the regulatory and institutional levels.
 Regarding the institutional framework, adequate resources
 need to be allocated to the consumer protection team and
 modern supervisory tools should be made available. Consumer
 organizations should be strengthened and motivated to assist
 the Central Bank of Armenia (CBA) in market monitoring. In
 terms of consumer disclosure, the CBA should issue
 regulations that require financial institutions to provide
 clear, understandable, timely, comparable and standardized
 information to consumers. In the area of regulation of
 business practices, the CBA should require that sales agents
 are well trained and should test them regularly. All
 financial institutions should regularly analyze the
 complaints received and the analysis should be provided to
 the CBA. The Steering Committee for the National Strategy of
 Financial Education should become the key body to manage
 financial education in Armenia.
-
Jamaica Consumer Protection and Financial LiteracyThis technical note is based on a
 mission conducted from April 24 to May 9, 2014 to Kingston
 and other parts of Jamaica. The mission also conducted a
 short mystery shopping exercise with the assistance of a
 representative from the national consumer’s league. Valuable
 comments on the draft note were provided by the Bank of
 Jamaica and the Financial Services Commission. The technical
 note consists of findings, issues and recommendations, and
 four annexes: annex one, existing structure for prudential
 and consumer protection supervision; annex two, current and
 revised legislation affecting financial consumer protection;
 annex three, comparison to world bank good practices on
 financial consumer protection; and annex four, national
 program of consumer protection and financial literacy,
 implementation plan components. The key recommendations
 present targeted measures that can be immediately
 implemented and will have a positive (and measurable) impact
 on public confidence in formal financial institutions. The
 focus of the technical note is on deposit-taking
 institutions although some aspects of others parts of the
 financial sector have been included.
-
Private Equity and Venture Capital in SMEs in Developing Countries : The Role for Technical AssistanceThis paper discusses the constraints for
 private equity financing of small and medium enterprises in
 developing economies. In addition to capital, private
 equity investors bring knowledge and expertise to the
 companies in which they invest. Through active participation
 on the board of directors or in partnership with management,
 private equity investors equip companies with critical
 improvements in governance, financial accounting, access to
 markets, technology, and other drivers of business success.
 Although private equity investors could help to create,
 deepen, and expand growth of small and medium enterprises in
 developing economies, the vast majority of private equity in
 such markets targets larger or more established enterprises.
 Technical assistance, when partnered with private equity,
 can unlock more investor commitments and considerably
 enhance the ability of small and medium enterprises in
 emerging markets to raise private equity capital. Technical
 assistance provides funding that allows private equity funds
 to extend their reach to smaller companies. Technical
 assistance can mitigate some level of risk and increase the
 probability of successful investments by funding targeted
 operational improvements of investee companies. Dedicated
 technical assistance facilities financed by third parties,
 such as development finance institutions, governments, or
 other parties, have emerged to fill this critical need. The
 paper discusses the provision of investment capital twinned
 with technical assistance, which is now more accepted by
 limited partners and general partners or fund managers and
 is becoming more of a market model for private equity
 finance focused on small and medium enterprises.