IMF adds Poland to watch-list of top economies

Photo: sxc.hu

According to a statement by the IMF, the four new countries should be considered as “systemically important” as regards staving off a crisis.

“The experience of the global financial crisis and the government debt crisis in Europe has shown that events in relatively small countries that are highly connected to others can have significant spillovers,” the IMF concluded in a statement.

“Their impact on the global financial system often far exceeds the size of their financial sector or their economy.”

The four new countries were added as a result of a review by the IMF board in December 2013 which judged that more emphasis on the connections between financial sectors and institutions should be made.

Likewise the review argued for more“cross-border linkages to cover not only banking but also equity and debt exposures.”

Checks cover “the soundness of banks and other financial institutions, the quality of financial market oversight in banking and... the ability of supervisors, policy-makers, and financial safety nets to respond effectively in case of a crisis.”

Among the 25 countries already included on the list are Australia, China, France, Germany, India, Japan, Russia, South Korea, Switzerland, the United Kingdom and the United States. (nh)

Source: IAR, IMF