| Abbreviations | |
|---|---|
| BIS | Bank for International Settlements |
| G-20 | Group of 20 |
| GDP | gross domestic product |
| IMF | International Monetary Fund |
| OECD | Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development |
| SME | small and medium enterprise |
| SWF | sovereign wealth fund |
| Glossary | |
| Country | A territorial entity for which statistical data are maintained and provided internationally on a separate and independent basis (not necessarily a state as understood by international law and practice). |
| Financial development | Conceptually, financial development is a process of reducing the costs development of acquiring information, enforcing contracts, and making transactions. Empirically, measuring financial development directly is challenging. This report focuses on measuring four characteristics (depth, access, efficiency, and stability) for financial institutions and markets (“4x2 framework”). |
| Financial inclusion | The share of individuals and firms that uses financial services. |
| Financial system | The financial system in a country is defined to include financial institutions (banks, insurance companies, and other nonbank financial institutions) and financial markets (such as those in stocks, bonds, and financial derivatives). It also includes the financial infrastructure (which includes, for example, credit information–sharing systems and payments and settlement systems). |
| Institutional investors | Institutional investors include public and private pension funds, life insurance companies, non-life insurance companies, and mutual funds. |
| Long-term finance | Long-term finance comprises all types of financing (including loans, bonds, leasing, and public and private equity) with a maturity exceeding one year. Maturity refers to the length of time between origination of a financial claim (loan, bond, or other financial instrument) and the final payment date, at which point the remaining principal and interest are due to be paid. Equity, which has no final repayment date of a principal, can be seen as an instrument with nonfinite maturity. |
| Nonbank financial institutions | Institutional investors and other nonbank financial intermediaries (such as leasing companies and investment banks). |