The increasingly digital environment for financial products and services and the potential for digitalisation to support greater financial inclusion and inclusive growth, makes effective financial consumer protection more important than ever. This policy guidance focuses on areas related to the role of oversight bodies and disclosure and transparency.

The digitalisation of financial products and services, and the consequent need to strengthen digital financial literacy has become an important component of the global policy-making agenda. This guidance aims to identify and promote effective initiatives that enhance digital and financial literacy in light of the unique characteristics, advantages, and risks of digital financial services and channels.

A new OECD report, the 2018 Business and Finance Outlook, highlights a number of major risks having the potential to disrupt global economic growth. It notes that the gradual normalisation of monetary policy in an environment of growing debt will be a major test of whether the Basel III regulatory reforms have achieved their goal of ensuring safety and soundness in the financial system.

4-5 September 2018, Paris - The OECD Blockchain Policy Forum on "Distributed Ledgers: Opportunities and Challenges" was the first major international conference to take stock of blockchain’s impacts across the full range of government activities and public priorities.

Mr. Angel Gurría, Secretary-General of the OECD, was in Vienna on 7-8 September 2018 to attend the Eurogroup Meeting / Informal Meeting of Economic and Financial Affairs Ministers (ECOFIN).

This seminar, jointly organised by the OECD and the Ministry of Finance of Japan, will address quality infrastructure investment, governance, planning and technology issues as well as data collection and benchmarking for quality infrastructure. It is taking place on 12-13 September 2018, in Tokyo, Japan.

This document contains a high-level, outcome-based, internationally relevant, core competencies framework on financial literacy for micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) and potential entrepreneurs. It highlights a range of outcomes that may be important to sustain or improve their financial literacy.

4-5 October 2018, Moscow, Russian Federation: The symposium will focus on innovative implementation approaches to deliver global progress on financial literacy.

26/10/2018 - The OECD Committee on Financial Markets has confirmed the appointment of Aerdt Houben, Director of the Financial Markets Division at De Nederlandsche Bank, as its Chair.

12-13 November 2018, São Paulo, Brazil - A series of events addressing the most recent trends, opportunities and challenges in financial education will be co-hosted by the OECD and CVM Brazil.

15 November 2018, Paris - This Workshop will bring together academics, public stakeholders and industry experts to discuss using blockchain technology to unlock data for AI and financial sustainability and quality benchmarks

21/11/2018 - The OECD is currently updating its 1977 Recommendation on Consumer Protection in the field of Consumer Credit to ensure that it remains the relevant international standard. The draft text is available for public comment until 21 December 2018.

26-27 November 2018, Vientiane, Lao People's Democratic Republic. The conference will provide a forum to discuss best practices on developing financial education and consumer protection in supporting financial inclusion in Lao P.D.R and other Southeast Asian countries.

The OECD, UN Environment and World Bank Group today called on leaders of G20 countries to do more to enable a radical shift of investment into low-carbon, climate-resilient infrastructure as a way to limit the impact of climate change.

This report makes use of a unique set of data on premiums and claims provided by global reinsurance companies to examine the contribution that reinsurance has made to enhancing the capacity of the primary insurance market to manage catastrophe risk and to reducing the economic and insurance market disruption that often follows catastrophic events.

This report analyses the emergence and potential of ICOs as a financing mechanism for start-ups and small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), examines the benefits and challenges of this mechanism for small businesses and investors, and discusses policy implications of ICO activity for inclusive financing of SMEs and the real economy.

30 January 2019, Singapore - This Workshop will bring together academics, public stakeholders and industry experts to discuss data collection and benchmarks for quality infrastructure investment and blockchain and innovation in sustainable infrastructure.

8/2/2019 - Gross borrowings of OECD governments from the markets are set to reach a new record level in 2019 by exceeding USD 11 trillion. While government funding needs in the wake of the financial crisis increased in most OECD countries, the recent further increase is confined to a few countries, particularly the United States.

While China’s overall debt-to-GDP ratio is not particularly high, its non-financial corporate debt relative to GDP is higher than in other major economies.

25 February 2019 - Corporate bond markets have become an increasingly important source of financing for non-financial companies since the global financial crisis. The total outstanding debt in the form of corporate bonds reached USD 13 trillion as of end-2018. In real terms, this is twice as much as in 2008. This paper documents a number of associated risks and vulnerabilities.

Global outstanding debt in the form of corporate bonds issued by non-financial companies has hit record levels, reaching almost USD 13 trillion at the end of 2018. This is double the amount outstanding in real terms before the 2008 financial crisis, according to a new OECD paper.

The Roundtable offers a forum for regulators, policy makers, experts, practitioners, scholars and international organisations in Asia. This year’s edition will focus on recent developments in capital markets, future capital markets facing the challenge of new financial technology and responsible, viable, and lifecycle infrastructure investments.

07/03/2019 - The OECD Insurance and Private Pensions Committee (IPPC) has confirmed the appointment of Mr Yoshihiro Kawai, Advisor to the Commissioner, Japan Financial Services Agency, as its Chair.

7 March 2019 - The International Conference on Pension Supervision and Regulation this year will focus on Options for creating sustainable pension systems in emerging markets and will take place in New Delhi, India.

A robust and resilient anti-money laundering and combating of terrorism financing (AML/CFT) regime is the first step towards being able to implement effective legal, regulatory and operational measures. This document describes recommendations made by the OECD in relation to Latvia’s efforts to strengthen its AML/CFT supervisory and control systems.

Mr. Angel Gurría, Secretary-General of the OECD, will be in Bucharest on 5-6 April 2019 to attend the Informal Meeting of European Economic and Financial Affairs Ministers (ECOFIN).

Mr. Angel Gurría, Secretary-General of the OECD, will be in Washington, from 11 to 13 April 2019 to attend a G7 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors Meeting, a G20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors Meeting, and the 2019 International Monetary Fund and World Bank Spring Meetings.

This report provides updates of trends and developments associated with sovereign borrowing requirements and debt levels from the perspective of public debt managers for the OECD area and country groupings.

This OECD report monitors trends in the financial performance of private pension plans. Covering 87 countries, it assesses the amount of assets in funded and private pension plans, describes the way these assets are invested in financial markets, and looks at how investments have performed, both in the past year and over the past decade.

31/05/2019 - Preliminary data for 2018 show that assets in pension funds amounted to USD 27.6 trillion in the OECD area, close to 4% lower than in 2017. Calculated in national currencies, pension fund assets declined in 12 out of 34 reporting OECD countries, including some of the largest pension markets: Japan (-1.1%), the Netherlands (-1.2%), Switzerland (-0.7%), the United Kingdom (-0.3%) and the United States (-5.0%).

This paper studies the case of Turkey and suggests several tools to promote retirement planning. Section I provides a review of the traditional and behavioural policy instruments designed to promote retirement savings, along with a discussion on their effectiveness.

27 June 2019 - Preliminary data for 2018 show an increase in gross premiums of domestic insurance companies in most countries, especially in the non-life sector.

This report analyses insurance market statistics collected by the OECD to monitor the insurance industry’s overall performance and health. It covers all OECD countries plus selected Asian, African and Latin American countries.

Monthly monetary and financial statistics contains financial statistics on five separate subjects: monetary aggregates, interest rates, exchange rates, reserve assets, and share prices.

Mr. Angel Gurría, Secretary-General of the OECD, will participate in the G7 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors’ meeting in Chantilly, on 17-18 July 2019.

Each year, the OECD publishes a survey of the investment regulation of pension funds which describes the main quantitative investment regulations applied to pension funds in 77 economies. The survey questionnaire covers all types of pension plans financed via pension funds.

12-13 September 2019 - The 2nd OECD Global Blockchain Policy Forum will address the benefits and risks of blockchain for our economies and societies, identify good policy and regulatory approaches, and investigate uses in specific policy areas.

Existing Home Sales in the United States decreased to 5270 Thousand in March from 5760 Thousand in February of 2020. Existing Home Sales in the United States averaged 3981.63 Thousand from 1968 until 2020, reaching an all time high of 7250 Thousand in September of 2005 and a record low of 1370 Thousand in March of 1970. Existing Home Sales occurs when the mortgage is closed. Mortgage closing usually takes place 30-60 days after the sales contract is closed. . This page provides the latest reported value for - United States Existing Home Sales - plus previous releases, historical high and low, short-term forecast and long-term prediction, economic calendar, survey consensus and news.

Existing Home Sales in Spain decreased to 35.32 Thousand in February from 38.44 Thousand in January of 2020. Existing Home Sales in Spain averaged 23.73 Thousand from 2007 until 2020, reaching an all time high of 50.23 Thousand in January of 2007 and a record low of 11.54 Thousand in October of 2011. This page provides - Spain Existing Home Sales- actual values, historical data, forecast, chart, statistics, economic calendar and news.

Government Spending in Nepal increased to 113731 NPR Million in 2018 from 104989 NPR Million in 2017. Government Spending in Nepal averaged 65645.63 NPR Million from 2000 until 2018, reaching an all time high of 113731 NPR Million in 2018 and a record low of 35785 NPR Million in 2000. This page provides - Nepal Government Spending- actual values, historical data, forecast, chart, statistics, economic calendar and news.

Consumer Spending in Nepal increased to 689298 Million Rupees in 2018 from 647090 Million Rupees in 2017. Consumer Spending in Nepal averaged 499527.16 Million Rupees from 2000 until 2018, reaching an all time high of 689298 Million Rupees in 2018 and a record low of 348989 Million Rupees in 2000. This page provides - Nepal Consumer Spending- actual values, historical data, forecast, chart, statistics, economic calendar and news.

GDP From Manufacturing in Nepal increased to 56018 NPR Million in 2018 from 52957 NPR Million in 2017. GDP From Manufacturing in Nepal averaged 42993.98 NPR Million from 2001 until 2018, reaching an all time high of 56018 NPR Million in 2018 and a record low of 36364.03 NPR Million in 2001. This page provides - Nepal Gdp From Manufacturing- actual values, historical data, forecast, chart, statistics, economic calendar and news.

The stocks of goods held by firms in Nepal increased by 377968 NPR Million in 2018. Changes In Inventories in Nepal averaged 104909.16 NPR Million from 2000 until 2018, reaching an all time high of 377968 NPR Million in 2018 and a record low of -54 NPR Million in 2001. This page provides - Nepal Changes In Inventories- actual values, historical data, forecast, chart, statistics, economic calendar and news.

Foreign Direct Investment in Nepal increased by 17512.80 NPR Million in 2018. Foreign Direct Investment in Nepal averaged 4159.94 NPR Million from 2001 until 2018, reaching an all time high of 17512.80 NPR Million in 2018 and a record low of -469.70 NPR Million in 2006. This page provides - Nepal Foreign Direct Investment- actual values, historical data, forecast, chart, statistics, economic calendar and news.

Nepal scored 34 points out of 100 on the 2019 Corruption Perceptions Index reported by Transparency International. Corruption Index in Nepal averaged 27.25 Points from 2004 until 2019, reaching an all time high of 34 Points in 2019 and a record low of 22 Points in 2010. The Corruption Perceptions Index ranks countries and territories based on how corrupt their public sector is perceived to be. A country or territory’s score indicates the perceived level of public sector corruption on a scale of 0 (highly corrupt) to 100 (very clean). This page provides the latest reported value for - Nepal Corruption Index - plus previous releases, historical high and low, short-term forecast and long-term prediction, economic calendar, survey consensus and news.

The inflation rate in Nepal was recorded at 6.90 percent in February of 2020. Inflation Rate in Nepal averaged 8.16 percent from 1964 until 2020, reaching an all time high of 30.42 percent in May of 1966 and a record low of -11.54 percent in May of 1967. In Nepal, the most important categories in the consumer price index are food and beverages (43.91 percent of the total weight) and housing, water, electricity, gas and other fuels (20.3 percent). The index also includes: education (7.4 percent); clothing and footwear (7.1 percent); transport (5.3 percent); furnishings, housing equipment (4.3 percent); healthcare (3.5 percent); communication (2.8 percent); miscellaneous goods and services (2.8 percent) and recreation and culture (2.5 percent). This page provides the latest reported value for - Nepal Inflation Rate - plus previous releases, historical high and low, short-term forecast and long-term prediction, economic calendar, survey consensus and news.

Cost of food in Nepal increased 9.80 percent in February of 2020 over the same month in the previous year. Food Inflation in Nepal averaged 9.39 percent from 2007 until 2020, reaching an all time high of 21.42 percent in June of 2009 and a record low of -1 percent in June of 2017. This page provides the latest reported value for - Nepal Food Inflation - plus previous releases, historical high and low, short-term forecast and long-term prediction, economic calendar, survey consensus and news.

The benchmark interest rate in Nepal was last recorded at 6 percent. Interest Rate in Nepal averaged 6.73 percent from 2003 until 2020, reaching an all time high of 8 percent in July of 2012 and a record low of 5.50 percent in September of 2003. In Nepal, interest rates decisions are taken by the Nepal Rastra Bank. The official interest rate is the bank rate. This page provides - Nepal Interest Rate - actual values, historical data, forecast, chart, statistics, economic calendar and news.

In general, a credit rating is used by sovereign wealth funds, pension funds and other investors to gauge the credit worthiness of Nepal thus having a big impact on the country's borrowing costs. This page includes the government debt credit rating for Nepal as reported by major credit rating agencies.

Standard & Poor's credit rating for Morocco stands at BBB- with stable outlook. Moody's credit rating for Morocco was last set at Ba1 with stable outlook. Fitch's credit rating for Morocco was last reported at BBB- with negative outlook. In general, a credit rating is used by sovereign wealth funds, pension funds and other investors to gauge the credit worthiness of Morocco thus having a big impact on the country's borrowing costs. This page includes the government debt credit rating for Morocco as reported by major credit rating agencies.