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

Posted on April 18, 2012 by iMFdirect

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.

Filed under: Advanced Economies, Economic Crisis, Emerging Markets, Europe, Finance, Financial Crisis, Financial regulation, Financial sector supervision, G-20, IMF, International Monetary Fund | Tagged: assets, balance sheets, bank supervision and regulation, banking sector, banks, capital, competitiveness, corporate sector, credit crunch, debt, deficits, deleveraging, deposit insurance, emerging economies, Europe, European Central Bank, financial instiutions, financial markets, firewall, fiscal policy, G20, GFSR, global financial regulation, Global Financial Stability, government bonds, Greece, Group of Twenty, growth, households, investors, Italy, Japan, macroprudential, monetary policy, monetary union, over-the-counter derivatives, productivity, risks, shadow banking, Spain, structural reforms, United States | 5 Comments »

Debt Hangover: Nonperforming Loans in Europe’s Emerging Economies

Posted on March 29, 2012 by iMFdirect

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. NPLs in some parts of the Baltics and Balkans are already at par with previous financial crises elsewhere. Our analysis finds evidence that nonperforming loans are indeed a serious drag on credit supply and economic growth. They drive up banks’ funding costs and interest margins, and at the same time drain their profits and capital. On the credit demand side, over-extended households and businesses are reluctant to consume and invest.

Filed under: Economic Crisis, Economic outlook, Economic research, Emerging Markets, Employment, Europe, Finance, Financial regulation, Financial sector supervision, IMF, International Monetary Fund, recession | Tagged: Balkans, Baltics, banks, credit, eastern Europe, EBRD, European Union, IMF, Japan, nonperforming loans, NPLs, Vienna Initiative, World Bank | 5 Comments »

How to Exit the Danger Zone: IMF Update on Global Financial Stability

Posted on January 24, 2012 by iMFdirect

Many of the root causes of the euro area crisis still need to be addressed before the system is stabilized and returns to health. Until this is done, global financial stability is likely to remain well within the “danger zone,” where a misstep or failure to address underlying tensions could precipitate a global crisis with grave economic and financial consequences.

Filed under: Advanced Economies, Economic Crisis, Emerging Markets, Europe, Financial Crisis, IMF, International Monetary Fund | Tagged: Asia, banks, banks deleveraging, capital buffers, cross-border, economic crisis, economy, emerging economies, euro area crisis, European Central Bank, financial crisis, financial institutions, firewalls, Fiscal Monitor, global economic outlook, Global Financial Stability Report, Great Depression, housing, IMF, International Monetary Fund, Italy, Japan, liquidity, solvency, sovereigns, Spain, spillover, trade, United States, Vienna Initiative, WEO | 2 Comments »

Driving the Global Economy with the Brakes On

Posted on January 24, 2012 by iMFdirect

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.

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: banks, China, Christine Lagarde, credit, euro area, Fiscal Monitor, GFSR, India, Italy, Olivier Blanchard, Spain, trade, United States, WEO, World Economic Outlook | 8 Comments »

How Iceland Recovered from its Near-Death Experience

Posted on October 26, 2011 by iMFdirect

When I traveled to Reykjavik in October 2008 to offer the IMF’s assistance, the situation there was critical. The country’s three main banks—which made up almost the entire financial system—had just collapsed within a week of each other. The sense of fear and shock were palpable—few, if any, countries had ever experienced such a catastrophic economic crash.

Today, three years later, it is worth reflecting on how far Iceland―a country of just 320,000 people―has come since those dark days back in 2008.

Filed under: Advanced Economies, Economic Crisis, Financial Crisis, Financial regulation, growth, IMF, International Monetary Fund | Tagged: Banking crisis, banks, economic crisis, Europe, exchange rate, financial system, fiscal adjustment, GDP, grwoth, Iceland, IMF, International Monetary Fund, jobs, Netherlands, Nordic countries, Paul Krugman, Poland, public debt, Reykjavik, Simon Johnson, social welfare state, unemployment, United Kingdom, Willem Buiter | 12 Comments »

No Country is an Island: Ireland and the IMF

Posted on July 14, 2011 by iMFdirect

Speaking to the pain and anger of the Irish people at the toll the economic adjustment has taken on their daily lives, the IMF’s mission chief Ajai Chopra was clear during a press conference today in Dublin: the end goals is to protect the poor and most vulnerable people in society while restarting the economy.
The IMF along with the European Central Bank and the European Commission were in the emerald isle for the regular quarterly review of the government’s economic program.

Filed under: Economic Crisis, Europe, Fiscal policy, growth, IMF, International Monetary Fund | Tagged: banks, bonds, EC, ECB, economy, European Central Bank, European Commission, financial markets, fiscal policy, growth, International Monetary Fund, Ireland, unemployment | 8 Comments »

Blow, Bling and Bucks: IMF Work Against Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing

Posted on June 27, 2011 by iMFdirect

Drug traffickers, diamond smugglers, and terrorists’ financiers around the world have one thing in common: they abuse the financial system to “clean” the proceeds they have obtained from their illegal work, or to transfer funds to achieve their destructive aims. The former is known as money laundering and the latter as terrorist financing.

The IMF has worked with countries to combat money laundering and terrorist financing for over 10 years. With the benefit of all this experience, we decided it was time to consider a new, risk-focused approach to add depth to the way we assess money laundering and terrorist financing.

Filed under: Advanced Economies, Economic Crisis, Emerging Markets, Europe, Financial Crisis, International Monetary Fund | Tagged: Article IV, banks, corruption, Financial Action Task Force, financial institutions, Financial Sector Assessment Program, government revenues, inflation, insider trading, International Monetary Fund, money laundering, purchasing power, risk, tax evasion, terrorist financing, United States | 4 Comments »

Global Growth Hits a Soft Patch

Posted on June 17, 2011 by iMFdirect

Despite a mild slowdown, the global economic recovery continues but the road to health will be a long one. Downside risks, both old and new, are increasing.

Our world forecast is 4.3% growth for 2011, and 4.5% for 2012, so down by 0.1% for 2011, and unchanged for 2012, relative to April. This figure hides very different performances for advanced economies on the one hand, and for emerging and developing economies on the other.

Filed under: Advanced Economies, Economic Crisis, Economic research, Emerging Markets, Employment, Europe, growth, IMF | Tagged: advanced economies, Asia, assets, banks, Brazil, capital flows, commodities, credit, crisis, debt, economy, emerging economies, Europe, financial system, fiscal, food prices, global recovery, government debt and deficits, growth, IMF, iMFdirect, income, inflation, International Monetary Fund, Japan, Latin America, monetary policy, oil prices, unemployment, United States, World Economic Outlook | 4 Comments »

More, Not Less, Financial Integration Needed in Europe

Posted on May 12, 2011 by iMFdirect

Banks―and the loans they provided in the run-up to the crisis―are at the heart of Europe’s problems today. Yet it would be wrong to conclude that the crisis was caused by too much financial integration. In fact, the real problem may have been that there was too little financial integration.

Policies to promote deeper integration of Europe’s banks―including through cross-border merger and acquisitions―should be part of the solution. Further progress in strengthening the institutions of the European Union (EU) is also needed. What’s more, further European economic integration would unlock substantial efficiency gains, which would help to restore growth in the crisis-affected countries.

Filed under: Economic outlook, Europe, IMF, International Monetary Fund | Tagged: banks, capital flows, cross-border mergers and acquisitions, current account deficits, European Union, external debt, financial integration, financial sector, fixed exchange rates, foreign exchange risk, interest rates, market failures, Regional Economic Outlook: Europe, regulatory and supervisory frameworks, sovereign debt, sustainable growth, the euro | 3 Comments »

Toughing It Out: How the Baltics Defied Predictions

Posted on January 7, 2011 by iMFdirect

The three Baltic states—Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania—were among the first victims of the global financial crisis. Although adjustment is still far from complete, a recovery is now underway. It is still too early to judge the success of the Baltic strategy, but it’s fair to say that the most dire predictions have not come true.

Filed under: Economic Crisis, Emerging Markets, Employment, Europe, Fiscal Stimulus | Tagged: bailout, Baltics, banks, crisis, currency, Estonia, EU, euro, euro area, Europe, European Union, eurozone, growth, Ilmars Rimsevics, IMF, Ingrida Simonyte, jobs, Jurgen Ligi, Latvia, Lithuania, loan, markets, meltdown, recovery, unemployment | 11 Comments »

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Debt Hangover: Nonperforming Loans in Europe’s Emerging Economies

How to Exit the Danger Zone: IMF Update on Global Financial Stability

Driving the Global Economy with the Brakes On

No Country is an Island: Ireland and the IMF

Blow, Bling and Bucks: IMF Work Against Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing

Global Growth Hits a Soft Patch

More, Not Less, Financial Integration Needed in Europe

Toughing It Out: How the Baltics Defied Predictions

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