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Efforts to launder money and finance terrorism have been evolving rapidly in recent years in response to heightened countermeasures. The international community has witnessed the use of increasingly sophisticated methods to move illicit funds through financial systems across the globe and has acknowledged the need for improved multilateral cooperation to fight these criminal activities. This second edition is to serve as a single, comprehensive source of practical information for countries to fight money laundering and terrorist financing. It discusses the problems caused by these crimes, the specific actions countries need to take to address them and the role international organizations play in the process. The report is organized as follows: Part A of this Reference Guide describes the problem of money laundering and terrorist financing, their adverse consequences, and the benefits of an effective regime. It also identifies the relevant international standard-setting organizations and discusses their specific efforts and instruments that fight these activities. Part B describes the various elements that are part of a comprehensive legal and institutional framework for anti-money laundering and combating the financing of terrorism for any country. This part of the Reference Guide is a step-by-step approach to achieve compliance with international standards, although it does not dictate the specific methods or actions to be adopted. Rather, it raises the issues that must be addressed and discusses the options that a country has in order to resolve these issues. Part C describes the role of the World Bank and International Monetary Fund (IMF) in the global effort and the coordination of technical assistance available to countries in order to help them achieve compliance with international standards. Each chapter is a self-contained discussion of the topics covered in that chapter with detailed references to background and original source materials. Annexes I, II and III provide complete citations to reference materials.

In recent years, the IMF has released a growing number of reports and other documents covering economic and financial developments and trends in member countries.

In recent years, the IMF has released a growing number of reports and other documents covering economic and financial developments and trends in member countries. Each report, prepared by a staff team after discussions with government officials, is published at the option of the member country.

Access to insurance, as part of a broad range of essential financial services, is especially important for poor households in order to smooth consumption, build assets, absorb shocks, and manage risks associated with irregular and unpredictable income. Without access to good formal insurance services, the poor depend on less reliable and often far more expensive informal sector mechanisms. Yet, in many majority Islamic countries, accessing and using insur-ance products has been quite limited, as many Muslims avoid such services over concerns about riba (interest), gharar (uncertainty and ambiguity in contracts), and maysir (speculative risk), among other factors. Takaful insurance products are emerging as a central part of the Shariah-compliant family of financial services, helping meet insurance needs in ways that are consistent with the local norms and beliefs of many majority Islamic countries. Takaful has been developing steadily since the first Shariah-compliant insurer was founded in 1979, based on a Shariah-compliant cooperative model resembling mutual insurance. This is based on a group of participants donating funds into a pool that members can then use in the event of specified unfavorable contingencies. While practitioners have applied varying business models and standardization remains a challenge, many policy makers recognize the potential of takaful to expand financial inclusion and have aimed to promote the industry with supportive legislation and effective regulation. The response has been strong, with premiums growing about 30 percent (inflation adjusted) annually between 2007 and 2010, reaching US$8.3 billion. This robust performance is expected to continue, based on substantial latent demand in Muslim majority countries and improvements in the industry, including better distribution capabilities.

Health care expenditures can be financed through a mix of public resources and private spending. Private spending is a much larger share of total health spending in low- and middle-income countries than in higher income countries. Moreover, a significant percentage of private spending in those countries is out-of-pocket direct payments for health care services by individuals. Out of pocket expenditures account for more than 60 percent of the total health care spending in low-income countries and 40 percent of total health care spending in middle-income countries. A growing number of low- and middle-income governments are considering private health insurance as a way of both reducing the risk that individuals will have a catastrophic financial burden and achieving other public health care goals. Among these goals are reducing the financial burden on overstretched public health financing, achieving more equitable access to health care, and improving quality and efficiency in the delivery of health care services. An important component of a successful private health insurance market, however, is its legal framework. As discussed in detail later in this book, countries regulate insurance companies to counter systemic market failures that lead to an inefficient and inequitable market. In particular, insurance laws are designed to prevent insurers from becoming insolvent and from engaging in unfair practices and discriminatory behavior. When private health insurance serves as a significant source of financing in a nation's health care system, usually insurance laws also include a range of consumer protection laws that enhance both access to the services covered by private health insurers and the adequacy of the benefits provided by the insurer. This chapter provides a general overview of private health insurance. It begins with a discussion of the definition of private health insurance and the potential roles of private health insurance as part of a nation's health care financing system. In addition, the chapter reviews the variety of entities that sell private health insurance.

The paper discusses the limits to market-based risk transfer in the financial system and the implications for the management of systemic long-term financial risks. Financial instruments or markets to transfer and better manage these risks across institutions and sectors are, as yet, either nascent or nonexistent. As such, the paper investigates why these markets remain \"incomplete.\" It also explores a range of options by which policymakers may encourage the development of these markets as part of governments' role as a risk manager.

This paper summarizes the results of a survey of financial supervisory agencies in IMF member countries conducted in 2007. Responses were received from 140 financial sector supervisors in 103 countries. A majority of these are separate stand-alone agencies, though, a majority of bank supervisors are part of a central bank. The survey asked respondents about their governance structure and practices, as well as practices and policies related to public transparency and accountability. Most agencies reported having operational independence. Bank supervisors were unique in viewing financial stability as part of their mandate.

In June 2009 a new financial supervisory framework for the European Union (EU) was endorsed, consisting of a macro- and a micro-prudential pillar. The latter is composed of a Steering Committee, a supranational layer and a network of national supervisory authorities at the bottom, de facto establishing a complex multiple principals-multiple agents network. This paper focuses on the network of national agencies. Starting from an analysis of supervisory architectures and governance arrangements, we assess to what extent lack of convergence could undermine efficient and effective supervision. The main conclusion is that harmonization of governance arrangements towards best practice would better align supervisors' incentive structures and, hence, be beneficial for the quality of supervision.