IMF Executive Directors for Group of Seven Present Program on Strengthening IMF

• Pages: 362-364

Page 362

The leaders of our countries and our finance ministers and central bank governors have issued statements today on the world economy and reforms to the international financial system. As representatives of our countries in the IMF, we would like to take this opportunity to propose some priority reforms for consideration as we develop the work program of the Executive Board to address these issues. Working in close cooperation with other members of the Executive Board, we will support and act to implement the following reforms to improve the effectiveness of the IMF, including transparency and accountability of the institution and its lending policies.

Standards

The importance of standards and codes of good practice in improving the functioning of markets and promoting transparency and good governance in the public sector is widely recognized. The IMF plays a leading role in developing standards on data dissemination and monetary, financial, and fiscal policies. We look forward to decisions by year-end on strengthening the Special Data Dissemination Standard (SDDS), particularly the publication of timely, accurate, and comprehensive information on official foreign exchange reserves, including forward positions. We should also complete work on the proposed code on monetary and financial policy by the spring 1999 meetings. Finally, the Executive Board should consider the publication, in a timely and systematic way, of the results of IMF surveillance and of the degree to which each of its member countries meets internationally recognized codes and standards of transparency and disclosure in the form of a transparency report.

Transparency and Accountability

There is growing awareness that public institutions, including the IMF and other international financial institutions, need to enhance their accountability through greater transparency about their operations, objectives, and decision-making processes. We believe that, as a general principle, the IMF should adopt a presumption in favor of the release of information, except where release might compromise confidentiality. The IMF should establish, announce, and periodically review an agreed definition of the areas in which confidentiality should apply and the criteria for applying it in order to facilitate the release of information.

The Interim Committee has endorsed increased IMF...