Press Release No. 12/58

Press Release: Statement by IMF Managing Director Christine Lagarde on G-20 Ministerial Meeting in Mexico City

February 26, 2012

Ms. Christine Lagarde, Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), issued the following statement today after the conclusion of the Group of 20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors meeting in Mexico City:

“I would like to thank the Mexican authorities for hosting us, including President Felipe Calderón, Finance Secretary José Antonio Meade, and Bank of Mexico Governor Agustín Carstens.

“Over the last two days, we discussed the challenges facing the world economy and continued our deliberations over next steps and actions. Derailment of the global recovery, which was a clear and distinct danger a few months ago, has been avoided for now thanks to strong policy measures--in particular those of the European Central Bank--and strengthened governance in the euro area, and reforms and adjustment in countries such as Italy, Spain, and Greece. High frequency indicators also now suggest an uptick in activity, mostly in the U.S.

“But the world economy is still not out of the danger zone, and the G-20 countries must now strengthen resilience to further shocks that could result from still fragile financial systems, high public and private debt, and higher world oil prices. Of equal concern is unemployment, which is still too high in many countries.

“Against this backdrop, we also discussed building stronger global firewalls, including enhancing the Fund´s resources, to guard against renewed shocks and to restore global confidence. As you know, we have suggested an increase in IMF lending capacity of US$500 billion, which would be combined with an equally credible, high quality and properly sized firewall at the European level. I was encouraged by the G-20’s reaffirmation of the importance of this process. Concrete decisions will await the reassessment by euro area countries of their support facilities, planned for March. In the meantime, there was progress at the technical level, especially a broad agreement that an increase in IMF resources could be done through bilateral borrowing and note purchase agreements. We have used this model before, and we know it can work quickly. We also need additional technical work on risk mitigation. Clearly the primary safeguard to Fund resources will be, as always, sound economic programs and strong monitoring, but our Executive Board will also assess other risk mitigation policies in due course. Additionally, I welcome G-20 support for completing the 2010 quota reform agreement, and I urge countries to quickly ratify the measures necessary to implement this important agreement.

“Many of the key issues discussed today will be reviewed at the International Monetary and Financial Committee´s spring meeting in Washington in April, as well as at the next G-20 ministerial meeting which will take place at roughly the same time, and the G-20 Summit of Heads of State and Government in June. Until then, it is crucial that countries continue efforts to restore global growth.”