Financial Sector Vice Presidency

The Financial Sector Vice Presidency (FSEVP) was launched in July 1999. FSEVP replaced the short lived Financial Operations Vice Presidency (FIOVP). FSEVP oversaw the following FIOVP departments: the Financial Sector Development Department (FSD); the Financial Sector Practice Department (FSP); the Capital Markets Development Department (CMD); and the Special Financial Operations Department (SFO). In addition, Banking and Financial Institutions Department (BFI) was created and placed in FSEVP. The joint IMFand World Bank Financial Sector Assessment Program (FSAP) pilot was also launched in 1999 as a response to the East Asia Financial Crisis, and was designed to rapidly assess and respond to financial sector crises. The FSP department assumed FSAP responsibilities, and FSEVP representatives also sat on the joint IMF and Bank Financial Sector Liaison Committee (FSLC) which oversaw implementation of FSAP missions and reviewed subsequent policy development and lending. Other responsibilities of FSEVP included:

• providing support to the Bank's client countries in the area of financial sector reform;

• supporting countries goals to reduce vulnerabilities in their financial sector and make financial systems stable and efficient;

• administering the Financial Sector Assessment Program jointly with the International Monetary Fund;

• providing advice and technical assistance to crisis countries;

• working with regional departments to formulate financial sector strategies for the systematically important countries;

• generating knowledge in the financial sector, providing research and policy notes on key topics and emerging trends; and

• promoting stability in financial systems by working closely with international standard setting bodies in updating and revising standards in the areas of banking, securities markets, insurance, and payment systems.

In 2001, the FSEVP was restructured to three departments, including: the Financial Sector Strategy and Policy Department (FSP); the Financial Sector Development Department (FSD); and the Banking and Financial Restructuring Department (BFR). FSEVP was restructured again in 2003, at which point it included: the Global Partnerships Program; the Financial Market Integrity and Money Laundering Program; the Financial Market Integrity Group (FSEFI); the FIRST Trust Fund Initiative (FSEFT); the Financial Sector Strategy and Policy Department (FSEGP); and the Financial Sector Operations and Policy Department (OPD).

In 2006, the FSEVP was terminated and its functions were transferred to the new joint Bank and IFC Financial and Private Sector Development Vice Presidency (FPDVP). The FSEVP departments and units were merged with the departments and units of the joint Bank and IFC Private Sector Development Vice Presidency (PSDVP) to form the new FPDVP.