G20 nations set to boost IMF firewall

The rising tide of fear was underlined by Robert Zoellick, the outgoing
president of the World Bank.

“Europe may be able to muddle through but the risk is rising,” he
said yesterday. “There could be a Lehman moment if things are not
properly handled.”

Meanwhile, the BRICS bloc of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa are
expected to pledge tens of billions of dollars in new loans to the IMF
bailout fund at a meeting before the opening of the G20 summit.

China’s Vice Finance Minister Zhu Guangyao predicted the group would pledge at
least $60bn and thus boost the firewall up to the International Monetary
Fund’s target of $430bn.

“China is confident that the IMF will realize its $430bn and China will pitch
in,” Mr Zhu told reporters as national delegations began to arrive at the
luxury hotels lining the Los Cabos coastline.

Mr Zhu said the BRICS and other emerging powers had pledged at the previous
G20 summit to come up with the funds, adding: “And so during this Los Cabos
summit a specific amount will be announced.”

The IMF fund will serve to backstop governments that are struggling to cope
with debt repayments, but eurozone leaders will still face pressure from
their G20 peers to make reforms to head off future financial crises.

The head of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development said
Europe had the resources to deal with the crisis but must “take down the
scaffolding” around EU institutions such as the European Central Bank.

“The ECB can help stabilize the bond market and the ECB really is the
bazooka,” Angel Gurria said, noting that the bank had already effectively
provided a trillion euros over a month to cope with the crisis.

“The problem is if you go into your championship bout with one hand tied
behind your back, you have a pretty fair shot at losing,” he warned.

“Europeans have to display the awesome firepower that is at their disposal,
and they have to transmit the message that they’re willing to use the
awesome firepower,” he said.

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