IMF bolsters its crisis-fighting fund to $456bn
THE INTERNATIONAL Monetary Fund (IMF) has bulked up its war chest to $456bn (£290bn) after 12 new countries contributed cash.
Emerging powerhouse China added $43bn to the crisis-fighting reserves, while India, Russia and Mexico provided $10bn each. The UK will put in $15bn.
“These resources are being made available for crisis prevention and resolution and to meet the potential financing needs of all IMF members,” said IMF managing director Christine Lagarde.
“They will be drawn only if they are needed as a second line of defence” when other IMF loans run out, she said during the G20 summit in Mexico. “Countries large and small have rallied to our call for action,” Lagarde enthused.
Lagarde said in a statement that the “seeds of pan-European recovery were planted” at the summit, with a commitment to “break the feedback loop between sovereigns and banks”.