State Financial Institutions - Can They Be Relied on to Kick-Start Lending?

The need to kick-start lending to the real sector in response to the global financial crisis is leading many countries to expand the role of state-owned financial institutions. The effectiveness of the support by these institutions depends in large part on the nature of the shock, on their ability to leverage private commercial banks to scale up their impact, and on the existence of a sound institutional framework. While it is too early to evaluate their effectiveness, past experience with the use of such institutions is sobering. Whether countries will heed the lessons of this experience remains to be seen.