Global Financial Stability: What’s Still To Be Done?

Posted on April 18, 2012 by iMFdirect

By José Viñals

(Versions in Español, عربي)

The quest for lasting financial stability is still fraught with risks. The latest Global Financial Stability Report has two key messages: policy actions have brought gains to global financial stability since our September report; but current policy efforts are not enough to achieve lasting stability, both in Europe and some other advanced economies, in particular the United States and Japan.

Much has been done

In recent months, important and unprecedented policy steps have been taken to quell the crisis in the euro area. At the national level, stronger policies are being put in place in Italy and Spain; a new agreement has been reached on Greece; and Ireland and Portugal are making good progress in implementing their respective programs. Importantly, the European Central Bank’s decisive actions have supported bank liquidity and eased funding strains, while banks are reinforcing their capital positions under the guidance of the European Banking Authority. Finally, steps have been taken to enhance economic governance, promote fiscal discipline, and buttress the “firewall” at the euro area level.

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Filed under: Advanced Economies, Economic Crisis, Emerging Markets, Europe, Finance, Financial Crisis, Financial regulation, Financial sector supervision, G-20, IMF, International Monetary Fund | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 5 Comments »

Debt Hangover: Nonperforming Loans in Europe’s Emerging Economies

Posted on March 29, 2012 by iMFdirect

By Christoph Rosenberg and Christoph Klingen

Some hangovers take more than a good night’s sleep to get over. It’s been three years since the global economic crisis put an abrupt end to emerging Europe’s credit boom, but neither lenders nor borrowers are in much of a party mood. One key reason: many of the loans so readily dished out before the crisis have now gone sour.

Festering bad loans are a problem on many fronts:  banks, credit supply, economic growth, and people all suffer. Take Japan’s lost decade. There too, a credit boom ended in tears, new lending subsequently went from too much to too little, and a vicious cycle of credit squeeze, declining asset and collateral values, and economic paralysis followed.

In emerging Europe, the share of loans classified as nonperforming—many of them household mortgages—have exploded from 3 percent before the crisis to 13 percent at the peak. As can be seen in the chart below, levels in some parts of the Baltics and Balkans are already at par with previous financial crises elsewhere.

Tackling bad loans

Nobody wants this dire script to replay in emerging Europe. Policymakers, bankers, and international financial institutions therefore got together under the Vienna Initiative to identify ways to tackle nonperforming loans. A working group co-chaired by the IMF and World Bank just presented a report that analyzes the problem and offers a way out.

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Filed under: Economic Crisis, Economic outlook, Economic research, Emerging Markets, Employment, Europe, Finance, Financial regulation, Financial sector supervision, IMF, International Monetary Fund, recession | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , | 5 Comments »

Disappearing Deficits

Posted on March 28, 2012 by iMFdirect

By Tim Irwin

Suppose a government must reduce its budget deficit. Perhaps it made a commitment to do so; perhaps investors are beginning to doubt its ability to repay debt. It could cut spending or raise taxes, but that is painful and unpopular. What can it do?

In our work at the IMF, we sometimes discover that governments choose to employ accounting devices that make the deficit smaller without actually causing any pain, and without actually improving public finances.

In ideal accounting, this would not be possible. In real accounting, it sometimes is.

How the devices work

Some governments, for example, have been able to reduce their reported deficits by taking over companies’ pensions schemes. The government’s obligation to make future pension payments has a real cost, but it doesn’t count as a liability in the accounting. So when the government receives a pension scheme’s assets from the company, it can treat the receipt of those assets as revenue that reduces its deficit.

Many other governments have been able to defer spending, without significantly reducing it in the long run, by entering into public-private partnerships. Under these contracts, a private company builds and maintains an asset like a road or a hospital. In return, the government agrees to pay the company for its costs over 20 or 30 years. In a sense, the government has bought the asset on an installment plan, but government accounting seldom counts this obligation as a liability.

In each of the above cases—and in others analyzed in my note, Accounting Devices and Fiscal Illusions—the government’s deficit is lower at first, but only at the expense of bigger future deficits.

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Filed under: Advanced Economies, Economic research, Emerging Markets, Financial sector supervision, Global Governance, Globalization, IMF, International Monetary Fund, Low-income countries, Public debt | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , | 7 Comments »

“Macro…, what?!” The New Buzz on Financial Stability

Posted on March 23, 2012 by iMFdirect

José Viñals (l) and Nicolás Eyzaguirre

By José Viñals and Nicolás Eyzaguirre

(Version in Español)

Just a few years ago, “Macro…, what?!” would have been a typical reaction to hearing the technical term that today is the talk of the town among financial regulators.

But in the aftermath of the global financial crisis, macroprudential policy—which seeks to contain systemic risks in the financial system—has indeed come to be an important part of the overall policy toolkit to preserve economic stability and sustain growth.

For example, a number of countries, especially emerging markets, have been relying on macroprudential policies (such as loan-to-value or debt-to-income ratios, or countercyclical loan loss provisions) to rein in rapid credit growth, which—if unchecked—could destabilize the financial system and, ultimately, bring about a recession and drive up unemployment.

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Filed under: Advanced Economies, Africa, Asia, Debt Relief, Economic Crisis, Economic research, Emerging Markets, Europe, Finance, Financial Crisis, Financial regulation, Financial sector supervision, Fiscal policy, growth, IMF, International Monetary Fund, Latin America, Middle East, Multilateral Cooperation | Tagged: , , , , , , | 6 Comments »

Youth Speaking Out

Posted on March 5, 2012 by iMFdirect

CliftJBy Jeremy Clift

Young people, hardest hit by the global economic downturn, are speaking out and demanding change. Coming of age in the Great Recession, the world’s youth face an uncertain future, with lengthening job lines, diminished opportunities, and bleaker prospects that are taking a heavy emotional toll.

Some people call them the iPod generation—insecure, pressured, overtaxed, and debt-ridden—but insecure or not, around the world young people are challenging a system that appears to have let many down. “Young people want a world economy that is more just, more equal, and more human,” says Angel Gurría, secretary-general of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development.

Differing impact on generations

Youth Demanding Change

The Great Recession has taken its toll on the different generations in different ways. For the post–World War II baby boom generation, it’s essentially a wealth crisis. A generation that had hoped to retire has seen the value of its property and savings dramatically eroded. For the group known as Gen X (born 1965–80), it’s an income crisis. They should be in the period of their life when they are earning the most, but the downturn has depressed their salaries and threatens their pensions. For Gen Y (1981–2000), it’s about their future and the potentially damaging legacy of the boomer generation.

In recent issues of the magazine, we have looked at the impact of aging populations on economies around the world and how inequality affects growth.

In the March 2012 issue of F&D, we look at the need to urgently address the challenges facing youth and create opportunities for them. Watch a video on this.

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Filed under: Advanced Economies, Africa, Asia, Civil Society, Economic Crisis, Economic outlook, Economic research, Emerging Markets, Employment, Europe, Finance, Financial Crisis, Financial sector supervision, Fiscal policy, Global Governance, Globalization, growth, IMF, Inequality, International Monetary Fund, Latin America, LICs, Low-income countries, Middle East, Public debt, recession | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 7 Comments »

New links for economics and finance

Posted on March 3, 2012 by iMFdirect

Some interesting new links for those tracking economics and finance

  • Track global economic news on IMF Survey magazine’s new Google+ channel
  • Get the new Finance & Development magazine on youth demanding change
  • Try our new Back to Basics compilation explaining key economic concepts
  • Update your understanding of macroprudential policies–a primer explaining things relatively simply
  • New ideas –the case for a managed float under inflation targeting–blog
  • How to exit the Danger Zone: IMF update on global financial stability
  • Europe updates–a new IMF and Europe page
  • Want global financial analysis at your fingertips– try our new eLibrary or app
  • Free! Get our new ipad app for IMF news and data–it lets you chart and view global economic indicators and forecasts
  • Listen to podcasts about the global economy

Filed under: Economic outlook, Economic research, Emerging Markets, Europe, Finance, Financial Crisis, Financial sector supervision, IMF, International Monetary Fund | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment »

The Case for a Managed Float under Inflation Targeting

Posted on February 29, 2012 by iMFdirect

By Jonathan D. Ostry

(Version in Español)

The global financial crisis has reminded emerging market economies, if they needed reminding, that capital flows can be highly volatile and that crises need not be home grown.

Emerging markets have been affected in a variety of ways, not least by the sharp ups and downs in exchange rates that volatile capital flows engender.

These ups and downs may be less benign in emerging markets than they might be in advanced economies for a number of reasons.

  • First, emerging markets may have more fragile balance sheets—essentially they are less well hedged against currency risk—so depreciations may engender financial distress and even bankruptcies and adverse effects on economic activity.
  • Second, they may be less flexible, so that when the exchange rate strengthens and the traded goods sector loses competitiveness, this may have permanent effects on the economy even if the exchange rate later reverts to its initial level.

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Filed under: Economic Crisis, Economic research, Emerging Markets, Finance, Financial Crisis, Financial regulation, Financial sector supervision, Globalization, IMF, International Monetary Fund, Public debt, recession | Tagged: , , , , , , , | 3 Comments »

Lagarde: “World Economy Not Out of Danger Zone”

Posted on February 26, 2012 by iMFdirect

Although a derailing of the global recovery has been avoided, the world economy is still not out of the danger zone, IMF Managing Director Christine Lagarde said after the conclusion of the Group of 20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors meeting in Mexico City.

“Over the last two days, we discussed the challenges facing the world economy and continued our deliberations over next steps and actions,” she said in a February 26 press statement.

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Filed under: Advanced Economies, Economic Crisis, Economic outlook, Emerging Markets, Employment, Europe, Finance, Financial Crisis, Financial regulation, Financial sector supervision, Fiscal policy, Fiscal Stimulus, G-20, growth, IMF, Inequality, International Monetary Fund, Low-income countries, Multilateral Cooperation, Public debt, recession | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments »

Driving the Global Economy with the Brakes On

Posted on January 24, 2012 by iMFdirect

By Olivier Blanchard

(Versions in  عربي, 中文, Español, Français, Русский, 日本語)

After the speech by the IMF’s Managing Director in Berlin yesterday, my main messages on the global outlook will not surprise you.

Starting with the bad news–the world recovery, which was weak in the first place, is in danger of stalling. The epicenter of the danger is Europe, but the rest of the world is increasingly affected.

There is an even greater danger, namely that the European crisis intensifies. In this case, the world could be plunged into another recession.

Turning to the good news–with the right set of measures, the worst can definitely be avoided, and the recovery can be put back on track. These measures can be taken, need to be taken, and need to be taken urgently.

And now the numbers, starting at the epicenter:

The IMF’s forecast for growth in Euro Area for 2012 is ‑0.5 percent—this marks a decrease of 1.6 percentage points relative to our September 2011 projection. In particular, we predict negative growth in Italy (‑2.2 percent) and Spain (‑1.7 percent).

We have also revised downwards our forecasts for other advanced countries, although by less. Only for the United States, is our forecast unchanged at 1.8 percent.

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Filed under: Advanced Economies, Africa, Asia, Economic Crisis, Economic outlook, Economic research, Emerging Markets, Employment, Europe, Financial Crisis, Financial regulation, Financial sector supervision, Fiscal policy, Fiscal Stimulus, G-20, Global Governance, growth, IMF, Inequality, International Monetary Fund, Latin America, Low-income countries, Middle East, Public debt, recession | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 8 Comments »

Lurking in the Shadows—The Risks from Nonbank Intermediation in China

Posted on November 3, 2011 by iMFdirect

By Nigel Chalk

(Version in 中文)

One of my all-time favorite movies is “The Third Man” starring Orson Welles and Joseph Cotten. It is a British film noir from the 1940s. Perhaps the most striking part of the movie is the shadowy cinematography, set in post-World War II Vienna. Strangely, it springs to mind lately when I have been thinking of China.

Many China-watchers looked on in awe in 2009 as the government’s response to the global financial crisis unfolded, causing bank lending as a share of the economy to expand by close to 20 percentage points in less than a year. This, subsequently, led to a lot of hand-wringing about the consequences of those actions and the eventual credit quality problems that China would have to confront and manage.

However, around the same time, a less visible phenomenon was also getting underway. One that, like Orson Welles’ character in the movie, resided firmly in the shadows. Various types of nonbank financial intermediaries—some new, some old—were gearing up to provide a conduit through which China’s high savings would be tapped to finance the corporate sector. The available data on this is terrible—the central bank’s numbers on social financing are the only credible and comprehensive public source, but even that gives only a partial picture.

Talking to people in China, and looking at what numbers are available, one cannot help but have an uneasy feeling that more credit is now finding its way into the economy outside of the banking system than is actually flowing through the banks. (more…)

Filed under: Asia, Financial regulation, Financial sector supervision, International Monetary Fund | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 24 Comments »

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