Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, March 15, 2011—
The World Bank and IFC gathered more than 300 senior financial infrastructure representatives from over 90 countries to promote the security and stability of financial systems that can mitigate future financial crises and increase access to financial services for households and businesses.
Financial Infrastructure Week 2011
, held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, began the week-long program to address three essential areas of financial infrastructure—payment systems and remittances, credit reporting, and secured transactions—and what national authorities, the private sector, and other stakeholders need to do to develop this financial-market infrastructure.
Global financial infrastructure is the backbone of every economy’s financial system. The quality of a country’s financial infrastructure determines the efficiency of intermediation, the ability of lenders to evaluate risk and of borrowers to obtain credit, insurance, and other financial products at competitive terms. Safe and efficient financial infrastructure provides stability for the global financial system.
“Everyone here this week, both public and private sector players, have a critical role in implementing holistic financial infrastructure reform,” said Janamitra Devan, World Bank-IFC Vice President for Financial and Private Sector Development. “Emphasis must not only be put on creating fair competitive market conditions but also on developing a collaborative ecosystem where growth is achieved while promoting the safety and efficiency of our financial systems.”
During
Financial Infrastructure Week 2011
, new international standards will be unveiled for global stakeholder consultations—the Committee on Payment and Settlement Systems-International Organization of Securities Commissions’ Principles for Financial Market Infrastructures and the World Bank’s new standards for credit reporting.
Throughout the week, participants will discuss topics at the heart of the international debate, deliberate on the new standards, and seek new approaches to better address current weaknesses in the financial infrastructure community.
The World Bank and IFC have been active in more than 100 countries supporting comprehensive reform programs in its commitment to promote and disseminate policy on financial infrastructure. For more information about
Financial Infrastructure Week 2011
, visit:
http://www.worldbank.org/paymentsystems/rio
.
About the World Bank Group
The World Bank Group is one of the world’s largest sources of funding and knowledge for developing countries. It comprises five closely associated institutions: the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD) and the International Development Association (IDA), which together form the World Bank; the International Finance Corporation (IFC); the Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA); and the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID). Each institution plays a distinct role in the mission to fight poverty and improve living standards for people in the developing world. For more information, please visit
www.worldbank.org
,
www.miga.org
, and
www.ifc.org
.
