Statement by Kristalina Georgieva on Her Selection as IMF Managing Director

IMF News, September 25, 2019

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Canonical URL: Statement by Kristalina Georgieva on Her Selection as IMF Managing Director

Selected as the IMF’s next Managing Director—the 12th since the Fund’s inception in 1944—for a five-year term, starting on October 1.
Expressed gratitude to the Fund’s global membership, the Executive Board, and tribute to predecessor Christine Lagarde.
Emphasized belief in the Fund’s mandate to help ensure stability of the global economic and financial system through international cooperation.

Observations on the global environment:
- Global economic growth “continues to disappoint.”
- “Trade tensions persist.”
- “Debt is at historically high levels.”
- Risks: unpredictability of trade disputes, capital flow volatility, Brexit, conflicts, natural disasters causing supply-side shocks and massive economic disruptions.
Primary near-term priority:
- “Help countries minimize the risk of crises and be ready to cope with downturns.”
Long-term objective:
- “Support sound monetary, fiscal and structural policies to build stronger economies and improve people’s lives,” including addressing inequalities, climate risks and rapid technological change.

Safeguarding the Fund’s financial strength:
- Support shareholders in pursuing governance reform.
- With completion of the 15th General Review of Quotas, “progress is made to ensure the Fund’s lending capacity,” while recognizing further work on quotas and governance reforms is needed.
Strengthening surveillance and capacity development:
- Enhance the Fund’s surveillance (including the ongoing comprehensive surveillance review) to better meet members’ needs and address longer-term trends such as demographic shifts, digital technology, artificial intelligence, and climate change.
- Improve capacity development and lending by integrating lessons from Independent Evaluation Office (IEO) reports on unconventional monetary policies and work with fragile states.
Modernizing operations and human resources:
- Commit to modernize corporate operations, human resource management processes and systems, data analysis and knowledge management so staff can excel.
Diversity and staff composition:
- Pledge “meaningful and measurable advancements in all aspects of diversity,” with particular focus on increasing the numbers and seniority of women and nationals from under-represented regions.

Readiness to provide financial support for countries in need; ensure programs remain relevant and reflect changing circumstances.
Emphasize evenhanded engagement with all countries experiencing difficulties and closer attention to fragile and conflict-affected economies.
Three specific issues for enhancing Fund work:
- Precautionary instruments: “It would be important to ascertain whether precautionary instruments are appropriately designed and deployable for a wide enough range of countries” and “explore if and under what conditions the Fund could step up this type of financial support.”
- Differentiated approaches for low-income countries: develop “ever more differentiated approaches to both lending and capacity-building” according to specific needs and circumstances.
- Balance between adjustment and inclusive growth: draw lessons from past experience (IEO’s draft issues paper on Adjustment and Growth in IMF-Supported Programs) to achieve “the right balance between orderly adjustments and inclusive growth.”

Advocate for keeping the Fund’s work close to its core mandate while pursuing partnerships with other organizations.
Examples of collaborative work to build on:
- Heavily Indebted Poor Country Initiative
- Financial Sector Assessment Program
- Joint work on Debt Sustainability Framework for Low Income Countries
- Bali Fintech Agenda
Potential collaboration areas:
- Macro-critical issues such as climate, gender, fragility, governance and anti-corruption.
- Work with Bank for International Settlements on digital currencies.
- Work with OECD on international taxation.
- Ongoing cooperation with FSB and regional financial arrangements.

Improvements since 2007 crisis:
- Early warning systems, including the Early Warning Exercise with the Financial Stability Board (FSB).
- Integrated bilateral and multilateral surveillance.
- Precautionary lending instruments for countries with good policies facing elevated risks.
- Strengthened global financial safety net: regional financial safety nets and bilateral swap arrangements now in place.
- Central Bank reserves are up to US$11 trillion – more than five times greater than before the 2007 crisis.
- Macro-prudential policies can now mitigate financial stability risks.
Caution that mobilizing a swift collective response is “harder than it was a decade ago,” increasing the imperative for preparedness.

Management experience highlighted: led reforms at the European Commission and the World Bank to strengthen efficiency, results, and staff well-being.
Describes herself as a “bridge-builder” and commits to building consensus among the Fund’s 189-member countries, the Executive Board and staff.
Pledge to:
- “Turn evidence-based analysis into actionable recommendations to policy makers.”
- Be “forward-looking and attentive to the needs of our members.”
- Make the Fund “fair and even-handed in its objective and independent advice” and “a beacon for talent and expertise.”