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Micro‐finance institutions are critical to Africa's quest for solutions to the continent's development challenge. The area of their greatest potential impact, rural Africa, is not only home to the bulk of the continent's population, but also the vast majority of Africa's poor. This paper not only defines MFIs with examples from Zambia, South Africa, Mali and Zimbabwe, it also establishes a clear link between MFIs and both poverty eradication and the empowerment and equality of women, two of the major Millennium Development Goals. The paper concludes with some policy recommendations and a set of “best practices” for the future success of MFIs on the continent, including the need to ensure flexibility and careful government regulation and supervision of MFIs.

The purpose of this paper is to examine the evolving role of financial sector regulators in the global effort to combat financial crimes. In particular, it seeks to address the factors that shaped the role of Caribbean regulators in this effort.

Case studies, secondary research and analyses of international requirements and domestic legislation.

Financial sector regulators in the Caribbean face numerous challenges endemic to small economies in meeting international expectations in relation to the fight financial crimes. This is particularly true of states that rely on the provision of off‐shore financial services as the economic mainstay. In spite of this, the region has made significant strides in addressing global demands.

This paper offers a perspective from the Caribbean region. It should be of interest to regulators and practicing lawyers.

This paper aims to assess the topography of financial regulation, supervisory styles and performance of banking systems across the world.

The author gains insights by comparing regulatory and supervisory practices and their impact on banking system performance before and after the global crisis. The study illustrates the differences in regulation/supervision among crisis, non-crisis and BRICS countries. Even as capital ratios increased, bank governance and supervision regimes were strengthened, the private sector incentives to monitor banks deteriorated.

The results show that the crisis-countries had weaker regulatory and supervisory frameworks than those in emerging countries during the crisis period. BRICS countries as a distinct block have demonstrated uniqueness in their regulatory/supervisory styles that are similar neither to those in the crisis-countries nor to those in the non-crisis countries.

The originality of this study lies in its unique approach to assessing the bank regulation and supervision styles around the world and their impact on banking system profitability, as it uses a robust database. Further, this study provides not only a general assessment but also a comparative analysis of the BRICS and emerging economies. Regulatory agencies around the world would greatly benefit from systematic evidence on the relationship between bank performance and regulatory/supervisory systems.

The purpose of this paper is to examine the political influence on the reforms proffered for the banking sector.

The paper is divided into three main parts. First, the paper will examine the background of the financial crisis. The second and main part of the paper is the examination and critique of the White Paper reform proposals. The paper concludes by critically examining the opposition party's reform paper and contrasts the proposals.

The paper concludes that although the bank regulation needs to be reformed, it is debateable whether it is the time or the place or indeed the party that is right to achieve a successful result at the present time.

The implications for the research is that during the next year banking reforms will undergo further changes, therefore, there will be a requirement to revisit and revise the findings in light of the political agenda of the new government.

This paper offers an original insight into the political influences on banking regulation within the UK.

Introduction: The COVID-19 crisis is a major shock to the global economy, with serious repercussions on financial markets. Most economies, especially high-income ones, have made considerable efforts, including financial ones, to stimulate aggregate demand in the face of a loss of income on the one hand and to maintain the production potential of companies on the other. This fact required the intervention through various instruments on the money market, but also the mention of the money creation capacity of the banks through the lending mechanism. Apparently, this should have affected the stability of banking systems by increasing the credit risk assumed, but this was avoided because banks are better capitalised and the regulatory framework, including the macroprudential one, was strengthened after the financial crisis of 2007–2009. Therefore, the national authorities had sufficient leeway to respond to the recession and market instability caused by the pandemic by relaxing prudential requirements.

Aim: A theoretical review of literature and good practice of developed banking systems on how macroprudential policy can supplement expansionary monetary policy in overcoming the pandemic crisis. Identifying the risks for the excessive use of relaxed macroprudentialism and formalising recommendations to combine it with monetary policy instruments to overcome stressful situations for banking systems.

Method: In order to study the subject approached in this chapter, there were applied the following research methods, such as analysis and synthesis of conceptual approaches of macroprudentiality and the tools they use, deduction and induction, in order to elucidate the influencing factors using the relaxation of macroprudentiality in the context of pandemic crisis and research on the high-income states experience in order to formulate conclusions and opinions.

Findings: The authors find that countries have responded quickly to the outbreak of the crisis by easing capital and liquidity requirements, or at least refraining from the previously planned tightening. At the same time, the authors noticed that loan-based measures and minimum reserve requirements were rarely relaxed and risk weights were not changed at all.

Originality of the Study: The correlation of different monetary and macroprudential policy instruments in the need to relax them, the analysis of possible risks and the formulation of conclusions on the usefulness of applying these methods to solve the economic effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Implications: Our results suggest that the macroprudential instruments can only be applied if banking systems have previously succeeded in consolidating the capitalisation of banks. A restrictive macroprudential policy can create premises for the use of excess capital in situations such as that generated by the pandemic, but it is recommended only to economies where overregulation does not affect development in periods of normal evolution.

This paper aims to summarize and explain the recently enacted UK Financial Services Act 2010 (the FS Act) and the coalition government's proposals for a new regulatory structure.

The paper explains the purpose of the FS Act, the statutory objectives of the Financial Services Authority (FSA) under the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000, and the FS Act's provision of the FSA with: an explicit financial stability objective, extensive powers to require information, extended enforcement powers, the power to prohibit or require disclosure of short selling, the duty to require authorized firms to prepare and maintain recovery and resolution plans, the obligation to make remuneration rules and the requirement to establish a new consumer education body. Explains proposals dropped from the FS Bill to secure its enactment during the “wash‐up” process. Summarizes the recently announced coalition government proposals for reform of the UK financial services regulatory structure.

The FS Act is a legislative response by the predecessor government to the causes of the global financial crisis, delivering significant reforms that seek to enhance financial regulation. The FS Act mainly amends the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (the FSMA) in order to give the UK Financial Services Authority (FSA) new objectives and duties and extend its powers variously. The recently elected coalition government has announced proposals for a new regulatory structure likely to take effect in 2012.

The paper provides practical guidance from experienced securities lawyers.

The purpose of this paper is to contribute to the existing body of work in the area of Islamic finance by examining the regulation of Islamic finance in Australia.

The method employed in this paper is a mixture of direct observation from legal and regulatory perspectives and authors' personal experience, curiosity, and association with this industry.

In Australia, where Muslims are minorities and full‐fledged Islamic banks are absent, it is expected that regulatory authorities would ensure there is a level playing field, so that neither Islamic financial services providers (IFSPs) nor conventional financial institutions are disadvantaged. They have also been expected to approve and monitor Islamic financial products, including those offered by Islamic managed funds.

The study is undertaken through the Shari'ah, where law, finance, economics, and business form a single dimension only, even though a very significant one. No attempt is made to evaluate the economic efficiency and profitability or otherwise, of IFSPs in Australia. Also, the approach for the study is not supplemented by any empirical work (e.g. by quantitative analysis of data or by survey or other qualitative methodologies).

The paper practically examines: the impact of banking and financial services regulation on Islamic banking and financing practice in Australia; and what further legislative measures and changes are needed to accommodate Islamic financing practice into Australian society to make it a truly viable alternative system of financing for Muslims in Australia.

Examination of the issues of the study is originally undertaken through one of the authors' personal expertise and working experience with some IFSPs in Australia, aiming at developing the relevant regulations by the Australian regulatory regime to make Islamic finance a viable alternative system of financing for Muslims in Australia.

To argue a case for a paradigm shift in the way urban cooperative banks (UCBs) are managed, governed, and regulated in India to enable them to enhance their contributions to achieving greater degree of financial inclusion, and more broad‐based growth.

The paper first surveys the quantitative importance of the UCBs in India, and their key performance indicators. Various official reports by the country's Central Bank, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), and other relevant organizations are used extensively. The paper then identifies key areas of reforms, centering primarily on the current business model, governance and regulation practices, and capital adequacy. It then argues for a change in a paradigm shift by the UCBs, and how better governance and regulatory structure can assist this shift.

The paper finds that if the UCBs are to remain relevant and play a significant developmental role in India, they will require same quality of governance and regulation as well as professionalism and modernization as the mainstream commercial banks. The governance and regulatory structures need to be brought in conformity with India's current and prospective economic structure; and relevant laws modernized. This requires a paradigm shift in the role of UCBs.

The research has been based primarily on secondary sources, particularly various reports by the RBI, the country's Central Bank. Better understanding of the reasons for differences between well‐governed and financially sound UCBs on one hand, and those that are not, requires focused interviews and more searching examination of the operating environment and financial statements of a sample of the UCBs. This could be the next stage of research.

This paper represents a part of public debate on ways of integrating the UCBs into the mainstream banking sector. This is an important public policy issue as even though the UCBs represent relatively small proportion of the total banking assets, they still represent a systemic risk to India's financial system, and without reforming them, broad‐based economic growth would be difficult to achieve.

This paper not only aims to trace developments from the inception of the 1988 Basel Accord to its present form (Basel II), but also to highlight flaws inherent in the 1988 Accord and Basel II, by way of reference to developments which occurred during the Northern Rock Crisis.

The paper highlights the importance of risks through a reference to the crucial role played by capital adequacy. In drawing attention to the importance of such a role and tracing developments which have taken place since the inception of the 1988 Basel Accord, it explores and analyses efforts of the Basel Committee to address capital measurement problems and assesses the success of such efforts through an illustration of capital measurement problems which still persist. An evaluation is made of the Basel Committee's efforts to address weaknesses of the 1988 Basel Accord through Basel II. Greater in‐depth evaluation of the effectiveness of the Basel Committee's efforts are undertaken through reference to developments which occurred during the Northern Rock Crisis, which is complemented by graphs and figures.

Whilst considerable progress has been achieved, the paper concludes on the basis of the principal aim of these Accords and failures of capital adequacy to address problems related to risk, that more work is still required particularly in relation to hedge funds, liquidity risks, and those risks attributed to non‐bank financial institutions.

The paper not only highlights existing problems with Basel II, as revealed in the aftermath of the Northern Rock Crisis, but also draws attention to other areas which the Basel Committee and regulators need to focus on.