The European Fund for Southeast Europe (EFSE) is dedicated to catering to the needs and business requirements of its partner institutions. As a responsible investor, the Fund has been keenly interested in the views of its partners on current and expected financial sector developments and trends in the EFSE region. As first-class market knowledge is vitally important in order to respond to the needs of its partners, the EFSE conducted a survey among its stakeholders in the EFSE region at the beginning of 2012.

The objectives of the survey were:<br/>

• to gain an understanding of potential risks in the financial sectors of the region,
• to shed light on the perceived medium-term market opportunities
• in the EFSE countries of operation, and
• to capture views on the level of Responsible Finance practices in the various markets.

<br/>Overall, the survey explored how industry representatives perceive the current and future developments relevant for the markets in which they operate and for their own institutions.
The survey was conducted in March and April 2012 and was both qualitative and quantitative in methodology. The analysis is based on 71 responses from top and senior management from the Fund’s partner institutions as well as representatives of other relevant financial sector stakeholders from the EFSE region, including central banks, financial sector support institutions (microfinance and banking associations, credit bureaus, and debt advice centres) and auditing companies.