April 2, 2009
Leaders of the G-20 agreed Thursday to massively re-arm(重整) the International Monetary Fund(国际货币基金会) for its fight against economic contagion(传染), providing significant new financing and a broad mandate(正式命令) for action.
President Obama and other world leaders meeting in London said they would triple(增至三倍) the IMF's war chest(战争基金，引申为“为特殊境况筹措的资金”) to $750 billion. And they will back the IMF, effectively creating an additional $250 billion by issuing "special drawing rights(特别提款权)," the agency's own quasi-currency(类货币) that borrowing nations can draw upon(利用) if needed.
"It's much bigger than the market expected," said Marc Chandler, senior vice president for currency strategy at Brown Bros. Harriman.
But first, Congress must approve plans for the U.S. to contribute $100 billion in credit. Fund observers say they expect lawmakers' OK, after a tussle(争斗). "It will not be an easy sell," says Eswar Prasad, a former fund economist at Cornell University.
If the new IMF money is to prevent further global deterioration(衰退), borrowers must use it. Especially in Asia, where memories of the fund's "tough love" role in the 1997 financial crisis are fresh, nations are reluctant to tap IMF aid. One positive sign: Mexico earlier this week said it would seek a $47 billion credit line from the IMF.
The new initiative(主动权，首创精神), along with an additional $100 billion for other lending, is expected to ease concerns about a looming financing shortage in developing countries, as global banks and other investors retrench(紧缩开支). The World Bank says the shortfall(不足的量，差额) this year will be $270 billion to $700 billion.
"If we can't get the emerging markets going, it's going to be harder for us to get out of this," said Morris Goldstein, a former fund economist at the Peterson Institute for International Economics.
Already, countries from Ukraine to Pakistan have turned to the IMF for multibillion-dollar rescues. More are expected to follow as the global recession deepens. Potential candidates include Turkey, Spain, Greece and possibly G-20 summit host the United Kingdom, said Simon Johnson, ex-IMF chief economist.