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Remittance Trends, Diaspora Bonds and Remittance-Backed Securities. Borko Handjiski , Senior Economist World Bank. Outline. 1. 2. 3. Remittance trends. Baltic countries have recorded fastest growth in remittances among EU-10 countries.
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Remittance Trends, Diaspora Bonds and Remittance-Backed Securities BorkoHandjiski, Senior Economist World Bank
Outline 1 2 3
Baltic countries have recorded fastest growth in remittances among EU-10 countries
Consequently, Baltics have among the highest remittance-to-GDP ratios among EU-10 and in the EU as a whole
Lithuania’s remittance inflows affected most by the crisis; Latvia’s the least; but in all three remittances more stable than FDI. Inflows of FDI and migrant remittances (in million EUR) Sources: Eurostat, IMF Balance of Payments Database, Central Banks of EE, LV and LT
Remittance flows often mirror migration flows • Russia and the EU are the main sources of remittances to the Baltics • Some source countries are common (e.g. Russia, USA, UK) • Not exposed to the weakest EU economies • Note: data in table include formal remittance flows only (source: World Bank)
Costs of remitting funds seem to be high – an issue for further exploration Source: World Bank
Why interest in diaspora bonds? • Remittances are a way of tapping into diaspora income flows on a regular basis, while issuance of foreign currency-denominated bonds to diaspora is a way of tapping into diaspora’s wealth, i.e. savings. • Empirical analysis shows that migrant (diaspora) savings are several times higher than annual remittance flows
What is the rationale for diaspora-targeted financing instruments
Two successful issuances of diaspora bonds: Israel and India
Remittance-backed securities – another instrument to utilize remittance flows • Main benefits for commercial banks are: • (i) increased market access • (ii) prolonged debt maturity • (iii) lower cost of debt (because of higher investment rating) “Innovative Financing for Development”, World Bank 2009
Global Knowledge Partnership on Migration and Development (KNOMAD) World Bank initiative for an open and multidisciplinary platform to generate and exchange information on migration and development The KNOMAD initiative is currently in inception phase and will be launched at the IMF/WB Spring Meetings 2013 More information: http://blogs.worldbank.org/peoplemove/and www.KNOMAD.org
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