State-owned banks feature prominently in the financial sectors of many countries. Where state-ownership has fallen into disfavour, privatization presents challenges as an ill-conceived privatization can create future banking sector problems. Where state-ownership will be ongoing, it is vital to have a governance structure to insulate, so far as possible, the commercial decision-making in the bank from day-to-day political influences. Mike Andrews has detailed knowledge of best governance practices for state-owned corporations, developed through the founding and oversight of the initial research program of the Conference Board’s Public Enterprise Governance Centre.   Insights and recommendations for policy-makers, drawn from international experience in countries committed to privatization as well as countries committed to continued state-ownership, are presented in Mike Andrews’ working paper “State-Owned Banks, Stability, Privatization and Growth: Practical Policy Decisions in a World Without Empirical Proof”

©2010 A. Michael Andrews and Associates Limited