**Table 1: Objectives of Selected Financial Sector Strategies**

|**Country**|**Relevant Extract from the Financial Sector Strategy**|
|---|---|
|**Malaysia**<br>**(2011)**|It is envisioned that in the next ten years, the Malaysian financial sector will increasingly be<br>intermediating domestic, regional and international financial resources and contributing to the<br>efficient allocation of resources not only in the domestic economy but also across borders....the<br>financial system is expected to grow at an annual rate of 8–11%, increasing the depth of the<br>financial system to six times of gross domestic product (GDP) in 2020....The reorientation and<br>expansion of the financial system will alter the landscape of the financial system<br>significantly....the new landscape will be redefined by the increased importance of existing<br>institutions and the emergence of new financial institutions including those with a greater<br>regional and international focus....Correspondingly, the scope of both the conventional and<br>Islamic financial activity will expand at a faster pace....Among the key additions to the landscape<br>to support international Islamic finance [is] the emergence of a single reference body for Shariah<br>matters, as well as Shariah advisories and consultancies.|
|**Mexico**<br>**(2013)**|One of the main issues on the agenda of democratization of productivity is greater access to<br>credit and that it is the cheapest, therefore, in the Pact for Mexico in Commitments 62 and 63 are<br>set as goals, respectively: the strengthening of the Development Bank to extend credit, with<br>special emphasis on priority areas for national development, and the modification of the legal<br>framework for commercial banks and credit institutions toprovide more and cheaper credit.|
||Rwanda’s long-term development plan, as articulated in Vision 2020, seeks to transform Rwanda<br>into a middle-income country and an economic trade and communications hub by the year 2020.|
|**Rwanda**<br>**(2008)**|An effectively functioning financial sector is a fundamentally important and essential element<br>for achieving this objective. Rwanda seeks to develop a financial sector that is effective, in<br>particular, by: (1) Expanding access to credit and financial services; (2) Enhancing savings<br>mobilization, especially long-term savings; and (3) Mobilizing long-term capital for investment.|

_Source:_ Authors’ review of selected national financial sector strategies.

We start with evaluating whether the objective is _clear_ and _well defined_ . We assess whether the objective is clearly identified somewhere in the draft of the strategy document(s). The judgmental criterion that we apply is: Would the objective be clear to someone with a basic knowledge of finance and economics? In most of the cases that we reviewed, finding a statement of objective(s) was relatively easy (Mexico). The objectives were broadly drafted in the form of aspirations for the type of financial sector perceived to be necessary for supporting the country's national development, for example, maintaining financial sector stability, increasing access to finance, or promoting competition in the sector.

Few strategies, however, included _quantifiable development objectives_ (Malaysia). There was a reference to national levels of development, such as becoming a middle-income country by a specific date. To this end, the financial development objective could be described as a derived quantifiable objective. When the review of financial sector strategies expanded to include financial sector stability reports, it became possible to identify quantified indicators as the reference points for financial development objectives. In the absence of numerical targets, the preferred performance indicators were

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