The Capital Markets of Emerging Europe: Institutions, Instruments and Investors

2008 This Working Paper should not be reported as representing the views of the IMF. The views expressed in this Working Paper are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily represent those of the IMF or IMF policy. Working Papers describe research in progress by the author(s) and are published to elicit comments and to further debate. Emerging European countries have made large strides in developing their local capital markets since the early-1990s. However, the rate of development has been widely disparate across countries and market segments, underpinned by the varying degrees of progress made in key areas such as establishing pricing benchmarks, adopting, implementing and enforcing securities laws and regulations, encouraging the growth of an institutional investor base, and providing adequate trading infrastructure. This paper provides an overview of the trends in the region’s local capital markets, and examines the main factors that have contributed to their growth and effectiveness to date. It also discusses selected policy responses necessary to further improve the breadth and depth of these markets