Work Program to Accelerate IMF Reform

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The IMF's Executive Board has released the institution's work program for early 2008, with an emphasis on accelerating the process of reform under way over the past few years.

As the global economy and financial systems evolve, the work program focuses on how the Fund is adapting to meet the needs of its members individually and as a whole.

In discussing the proposed work program with the Board, Managing Director Dominique Strauss-Kahn said that "enhancing the Fund's relevance and legitimacy and ensuring the Fund's financial soundness are our two critical priorities in the period ahead." He added that "addressing these challenges concurrently will provide an opportunity to reestablish the Fund as a focused, lean, and responsive organization."

The Board welcomed the proposed work program, underscoring the importance of making progress on reforming country representation (quota and voice reform), and appreciated the openness of the ongoing discussions on the budget and on refocusing the IMF.

Strauss-Kahn, who took over as Managing Director in November 2007, also said that the IMF had a key role to play in helping members limit the impact of the recent credit crunch. The IMF would help draw lessons from the crisis, which has slowed world growth and exposed weaknesses in the global financial infrastructure. The IMF will announce an update to its forecast for global growth on January 29.

Four-month agenda

In his statement to the Board, Strauss-Kahn outlined an interim work program until the meetings of the Fund's policy guidance body, the International Monetary and Financial Committee (IMFC), in April, when he expects to get endorsement for key areas related to the ongoing reforms.

Economic and financial market surveillance. A key objective is to make surveillance more effective at the country, regional, and global levels. This will be within reach, provided the recently updated surveillance framework is implemented in a consistent and evenhanded manner and that issues are framed in a global context to make better use of the Fund's universal reach and macrofinancial expertise. The Board will also begin work in early 2008 on the regular evaluation of the effectiveness of surveillance (the Triennial Surveillance Review).

Regarding the analysis of the financial turbulence around the subprime melt-down in the United States, the IMF- working with other institutions-is addressing such issues as the transparency...