Financial Stability Review 2008

Print version  (pdf - 30k)

For the seventh year running, the Bank National of Belgium has published its Financial Stability Review.

The regular feature of this publication, the Overview, takes a close look at the main determinants of the stability of the Belgian financial system and analyses recent developments in the banking and insurance sector in Belgium.

The second part of the Financial Stability Review contains four articles concerning oversight of the soundness of financial infrastructure:

  • Overview of the NBB's oversight activities
  • The assessment of Euroclear Belgium against the CPSS-IOSCO Recommendations
  • How Belgian payment and settlement infrastructure weathered the market turmoil in 2007 and the first quarter of 2008
  • Assessment and lessons of the first Belgian financial crisis exercise

Through more specific thematic articles, the Review also contributes to debates and reflections on the major changes underway in the international financial system. This year, the third part of the Review features articles on the following themes:

  • Burden-sharing agreements: the cart before the horse?
  • Transparency in banking
  • Agency problems in structured finance - a closer look at European CLOs
  • Measuring default risk in the trading book

In addition to its Financial Stability Review, the Bank is also publishing a new issue of the half-yearly brochure entitled "Statistical overview of the Belgian financial system". This publication provides a series of tables and charts describing trends observed in credit institutions, investment firms and investment advisory firms, collective investment management companies, insurance companies, pension funds and public issues of securities.

Financial Stability Review 2008