A look at non-performing loans: the boomerang effect

Authors: Ralph De Haas and Stephan Knobloch , 16 July 2009.

When the global financial crisis hit the transition region, worries among policy makers centred on the local banking systems and the potential for financial contagion from west to east. And when…

In defense of foreign banks

‘Banker’ has recently become somewhat of a dirty word and ‘foreign banker’ a most reviled sub-species. Over the last months foreign banks have, amongst other things, been accused of abandoning some of the emerging markets that have contributed so much…

The EBRD's new growth forecasts: "bearish", or turning point?

Following the release of our latest growth forecasts for the EBRD countries of operations on Thursday, Reuters reported that emerging European currencies had retreated on “bearish EBRD forecasts.”

As the creators of these forecasts, we found this both…

BIS data on cross-border flows – a closer look

Authors: Piroska Nagy (-7149) and Stephan Knobloch (-7065), 5 May 2009.

New BIS data for the last quarter of 2008 show that BIS-reporting banks significantly reduced their asset holdings across major regions of the world. While in absolute terms most…

The crisis has changed the EBRD

The debates among the G20 leaders about global architecture and the crisis response of the international institutions may seem abstract and removed from the concerns of most people. But the discussions are very real to those of us working in…

About EBRD

The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) uses the tools of investment to help build market economies and democracies in countries from central Europe to central Asia (read more).