Press Release No. 10/504

Press Release: IMF Appoints External Review Panel to Assess the Fund’s Risk Management Framework

December 20, 2010

The Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has appointed a high-level external panel to undertake a review of the risk management framework employed by the IMF to manage its strategic, financial, and operational risks. When the framework was launched (2007), it was decided that a comprehensive and independent review of the framework would be undertaken after three years of experience, as is customary for Fund policies. The creation of a review panel has been welcomed by the IMF Executive Board.

The review is intended to provide an objective and expert assessment of all aspects of the Fund’s risk management framework—the processes used to identify, evaluate and mitigate potential risks to the Fund and its operations—recognizing the Fund’s unique role in the international financial system, particularly its surveillance activities and responsibilities as a lender of last resort. Given the broad nature of the review, the independent panel will determine the scope, depth and timeline of its work.

The panel will be chaired by Guillermo Ortiz and includes three other members: Jacob A. Frenkel, Malcolm D. Knight, and Thomas O’Neill. Short biographical statements follow in alphabetical order:

Jacob A. Frenkel, Chairman of JPMorgan Chase International, and Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the Group of Thirty; former Governor of the Bank of Israel (1991-2000), and former IMF Economic Counselor and Director of Research (1987-91); and former David Rockefeller Professor of International Economics, University of Chicago (1973-1987).

Malcolm D. Knight, Vice Chairman of Deutsche Bank Global Group, Visiting Professor in Finance at the London School of Economics and Political Science; former General Manager of the Bank for International Settlements (2003-08); former Senior Deputy Governor of the Bank of Canada (1999-2003); and former IMF Deputy Director.

Guillermo Ortiz, former Governor of the Bank of Mexico (1998-2009); former Board member (2006-2009) and Board Chairman (2009) of the Bank for International Settlements; former Secretary of Finance and Public Credit (Finance Minister) for Mexico (1994-1997) and prior to that Undersecretary (1988-1994); and IMF Executive Director (1984-1988).

Thomas O’Neill, former member of the IMF’s External Audit Committee (2007-10); former Chairman of Board, and prior to that Chief Executive Officer, of PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) Consulting (global).