PARIS (MNI) – Christine Lagarde, managing director of the
International Monetary Fund, said Saturday that the agency plans to
propose new financing instruments that will allow it to quickly aid
countries facing financial crises.
Speaking at a press conference following the G20 meeting,
Lagarde said the fund will propose the financing tools to European Union
leaders at the Cannes summit in early November. Once they have received
the necessary approvals, the IMF will not “drag its feet in the
implementation,” she said.
The financing instruments, called precautionary credit lines or
flexible credit lines, are intended for countries with sound economic
fundamentals but that are facing external risks, like contagion to a
possible Greek default in the Eurozone area.
European leaders have been seeking news ways for the IMF to help
them face down the Eurozone debt crisis. With G20 leaders divided on
whether to increase the IMF’s resources, the agency is exploring how it
can deploy its existing resources more quickly and efficiently.
–Paris newsroom, +331-42-71-55-40; paris@marketnews.com
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