How should we measure and assess financial development around the globe? Why has financial development progressed so quickly in some regions and countries while seriously lagging in other parts of the world? At what point does the financial sector become too large or too complex? What mix of banks, other financial institutions, and financial markets is the best from the broader development perspective? How to ensure healthy competition in the provision of financial services? Which policies help in supporting robust financial development, and which ones do not? And which ones help in providing people and firms with better access to finance? These are the types of questions that are addressed by this new annual publication from the World Bank Group, the Global Financial Development Report 2013. The main theme of this inaugural report is Rethinking the Role of the State in Finance. Launched exactly four years after the Lehman Brothers failure, the report uses the experience of the global financial crisis to re-examine a basic question: what is the proper role of the state in achieving sustainable financial development? The crisis has challenged conventional thinking on the role of the state, and on financial sector policies. It has led to much debate on how best to achieve sustainable development. Among other things, the crisis has revived the notion that direct state intervention in the financial sector can help maintain stability, drive growth, and create jobs. The report examines this notion as well as the evidence of potentially harmful effects of some forms of the state's interventions. It also navigates through ideological divides and doctrinaire positions and delivers relevant, rigorous policy analyses and advice. Building on new data, research, and a breadth of country experience, the report provides a unique contribution to financial sector policy debates. The first part defines, benchmarks, and monitors different dimensions of financial development in countries around the world. The second part covers the various aspects of the state's involvement in the financial sector. Written for a broad audience, the report offers accessible, practical, timely, and actionable policy recommendations. It will be particularly relevant for country officials working on financial sector issues, such as policymakers and staff of central banks, ministries of finance, and financial regulation agencies. It will also be relevant to non-governmental organizations, academics and students, think tanks, private sector participants, and donors, along with the development community more generally.