Ceyla Pazarbasioglu
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Bibliographic details
- Published: January 8, 2025
Current role and responsibilities
- Director of the Strategy, Policy, and Review Department (SPR) of the IMF, a position held since 2020.
- Leads the IMF’s strategic direction and the design and implementation of its policies and lending activities across all IMF member countries.
- Oversees the IMF’s interactions with international bodies, including the G7, G20, and United Nations.
- Plays a key role in Fund engagement with the Board of Governors via the International Monetary and Financial Committee (IMFC) and in collaboration with the World Bank Group (WBG).
Major actions and initiatives led
- Led the IMF’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic, including scaled up emergency financing.
- Led negotiations on the historic $650 billion 2021 general allocation of Special Drawing Rights.
- Created the IMF’s Food Shock Window in response to the 2022 food price shock.
- Instrumental in launching initiatives to support countries with sovereign debt challenges:
- Debt Service Suspension Initiative (DSSI) for the IMF.
- G-20 Common Framework for Debt Treatment for low-income countries facing unsustainable debt levels.
- Global Sovereign Debt Roundtable (GSDR) with the World Bank and the G-20 for countries outside of the Common Framework.
- Played a key role in establishing the Resilience and Sustainability Trust—the first IMF facility providing long-term affordable financing for climate and pandemic challenges.
Prior positions and experience
- World Bank Group (WBG) from 2015–2020:
- Vice President for Equitable Growth, Finance, and Institutions.
- Oversaw a portfolio of nearly $30 billion of operational and policy work and advisory engagements across WBG Global Practices of Finance, Competitiveness, and Innovation; Macroeconomics, Trade, and Investment; Governance; and Poverty and Equity.
- Management responsibility for more than 2,200 staff in 138 countries, including 30 fragile and conflict-affected states.
- Previous tenures at the IMF: 1992–1998 and 2003–2015:
- Deputy Director in the Monetary and Capital Markets Department, in charge of work on financial sector regulation and supervision and crisis management.
- Assistant Director in the European Department and mission chief for Ukraine.
- Led Emerging Markets chapters of the Global Financial Stability Report and worked on financial sector policies and restructuring in Argentina, Russia, and Uruguay.
- Focused on structural reforms after crises in the Nordic countries, Emerging Europe, Latin America, Türkiye, Korea, and Thailand (prior to 1998).
- Government of Türkiye (2001):
- Joined the crisis management team to reform the pension system, establish the inflation targeting regime, and implement the “voluntary” debt swap.
- Appointed Vice President of the Banking Regulation and Supervision Agency of Türkiye; worked with the Central Bank, the Treasury, banking sector representatives, and the government to contain and resolve the crisis and establish a regulatory and supervisory authority.
- ABN AMRO Investment Bank, London (1998–2001):
- Chief Economist of Emerging European Markets.
Education, certifications, and publications
- Holds a doctorate in economics and finance from Georgetown University.
- Studied at Princeton University (visiting scholar).
- Certified Securities and Financial Derivates Representative (from the U.K.).
- Chartered Financial Analyst Charterholder.
- Published widely on financial crises; banking and corporate sector restructuring; regulatory reforms; macro-financial analysis; and debt management.
References