Press Briefing Transcript: Julie Kozack, Director, Communications Department, September 11, 2025
IMF News, September 11, 2025
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- Published: September 11, 2025
Announcements
- Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva will travel to New York during the week of September 22nd to attend the 80th UN General Assembly; she will take part in events and hold bilateral meetings.
- Deputy Managing Director Kenji Okamura will travel to Hanoi, Vietnam, on September 16th through 19th; he will also be in Tokyo, September 24th and 25th, for the 14th IMF-Japan High-Level Tax Conference.
- Michel Camdessus Lecture will take place on September 18th featuring Central Bank Governor Chang-yong Rhee; Managing Director Georgieva will have a one-on-one discussion with Governor Rhee after the lecture. The event will be live-streamed starting at 10:30 a.m. Eastern Time in the United States.
- The 2025 Annual Meetings of the IMF and World Bank Group will take place on Monday, October 13th to Saturday, October 18th. Press registration to attend in person in Washington, D.C. is open on IMF Connect.
Ukraine: new program request and next steps
- On September 9th, the Prime Minister of Ukraine, the NBU Governor, and the Minister of Finance formally requested a new IMF program.
- Next steps:
- IMF Staff will engage with Ukrainian authorities on macroeconomic policies to maintain stability, finance critical expenditures, and restore debt sustainability over the horizon of a new program.
- The timeline for discussions will be developed in the coming weeks as the team consults with the Ukrainian authorities.
- Ongoing analytical work:
- Staff is working jointly with authorities to assess financing needs for the remainder of 2025, 2026, and over the medium term.
- Analyses will integrate proposed fiscal measures, a fiscal plan, expenditure prioritization and restraint, revenue mobilization, and projections of external financing needs.
- Discussions will incorporate assumptions about the potential time frame for the war and the appropriate financing mix (IMF financing, external donors, domestic financing).
- Existing EFF program:
- Focus currently is on moving to the new program; no detailed disbursement schedule provided.
- IMF commitment:
- IMF will work closely with Ukrainian authorities within its mandate to help maintain economic and financial stability.
Senegal: misreporting case, corrective measures, and Executive Board considerations
- IMF Staff visited Senegal from August 19th through 26th to discuss corrective measures following the Court of Auditors report (published on February 12) and the misreporting case on fiscal and debt matters.
- Measures discussed to address root causes of misreporting:
- Centralizing the debt management function in Senegal.
- Strengthening the national public debt committee.
- Completing a comprehensive audit of payment arrears.
- Establishing a centralized debt database.
- Reinforcing controls around budget commitments.
- Consolidating numerous government bank accounts into one treasury single account.
- Process and next steps:
- Additional measures remain under discussion between authorities and Staff and must be concluded before the Executive Board can consider the misreporting case.
- These reforms are viewed as necessary to restore fiscal transparency, ensure reliable budget reporting, and prevent future misreporting.
- Regional implications:
- IMF is a learning organization and will draw lessons from experiences, but current focus remains on supporting Senegal to resolve the misreporting issue.
Argentina: program implementation, reserves, FX interventions, and political context
- IMF Staff are closely engaged with Argentine authorities implementing the program aimed to durably entrench stability and strengthen growth prospects.
- Policy support and observations:
- IMF supports continued adherence to the fiscal anchor, the comprehensive deregulation agenda, and the FX and monetary framework safeguards.
- IMF welcomes primary surpluses achieved through August; these are consistent with program targets.
- Monthly inflation has been below 2 percent for four consecutive months.
- Tight monetary policy has helped limit exchange rate paths and contributed to reducing inflation.
- Enhancements in monetary and liquidity management should continue to mitigate interest rate volatility and negative effects on activity (as highlighted in the Staff Report for the First Review).
- FX interventions and reserves:
- Staff was informed of recent spot market interventions by the Treasury; authorities described these as a temporary response to heightened market volatility.
- IMF emphasizes the importance of a transparent, consistent, and predictable monetary and FX framework.
- IMF has encouraged authorities to continue efforts to rebuild reserves, strengthen confidence in the peso, reduce spreads, and secure timely access to international capital markets (referencing the Staff Report for the First Review).
- Engagements:
- Managing Director spoke with Minister Caputo earlier this week to discuss progress; Minister Caputo is expected to attend the Annual Meetings in October.
Lebanon: reform program, economic contraction, financing needs, and banking sector
- IMF Staff team will visit Lebanon at the end of September to continue discussions on a comprehensive reform program.
- Economic outlook and needs:
- IMF expects the economy to have contracted by 7.5 percent in 2024, following a smaller contraction in 2023, resulting in two consecutive years of contraction.
- Humanitarian and reconstruction needs are large and require a consolidated and coordinated international effort and support.
- Significant external support on highly concessional terms will be required given substantial reconstruction needs.
- Program approach:
- Discussions focus on the right mix of policies and extent of external financing needed, beyond IMF support, from the broader international community.
- Restoring growth, reducing unemployment, and improving social conditions are core aims of a comprehensive reform program.
- Banking sector assessments:
- IMF staff are engaging substantively with authorities to build a comprehensive picture of firms, consumers, and the financial sector; discussions on the extent of bank losses are ongoing and part of the broader reform dialogue.
France and Europe: macro resilience, fiscal consolidation, and growth
- France:
- Economy has remained relatively resilient despite recent shocks; subdued demand and some uncertainty are weighing on growth.
- IMF will not comment on political developments but is following them closely.
- IMF advice for France: continue on a path of fiscal consolidation to reduce the deficit over time and place debt on a firm downward path.
- Europe-wide:
- IMF staff emphasize tackling high public debt through fiscal measures and boosting growth/productivity as complementary approaches.
United States: labor market revisions, inflation, monetary policy, and trade/tariffs
- U.S. macro observations:
- U.S. economy has shown resilience; domestic demand moderating and job growth slowing.
- Front-loading of imports early in the year and anticipation of tariffs caused volatility in first-half activity data.
- Inflation is on a path toward the Fed's 2 percent target, with upside risks largely from tariffs.
- Monetary policy stance:
- Given downside risks to full employment, IMF sees scope for the Fed to begin lowering policy rates but recommends proceeding cautiously and in a data-dependent way.
- Data quality and revisions:
- A large revision: employment in March 2025 was revised to be 911,000 lower than in the previous report.
- Revisions can stem from statistical and survey response errors; this revision is larger than historical average.
- IMF will examine data issues as part of the Article IV Consultation with the U.S. scheduled for November.
- IMF advocates for accurate, reliable, and timely data publication by member countries and offers technical assistance via its Statistics Department when requested.
- Trade and tariffs:
- Effective tariff rates in the U.S. remain well above 2024 levels despite declines from April highs; policy uncertainty remains elevated.
- IMF is preparing the October WEO which will incorporate recent trade and tariff developments.
Japan: debt levels, yields, and fiscal policy
- IMF World Economic Outlook estimate: government debt in Japan is over 230 percent (estimate for this year).
- Observations:
- Longer-term JGB yields have been gradually rising relative to other advanced economies.
- IMF view: need for fiscal prudence and a gradual fiscal consolidation over time.
- Recommendation to strengthen a rules-based fiscal framework to enhance accountability and credibility and to broaden the investor base.
Egypt: EFF reviews, RSF phasing, and reform/disbursement details
- Fifth and Sixth Reviews of the EFF are expected to be combined and completed this fall; a mission is expected to visit this fall.
- Macroeconomic stabilization is underway; IMF view: now is the time for deeper reforms to unlock growth potential, create high-quality jobs, and reduce vulnerabilities.
- RSF (Resilience and Sustainability Facility):
- The Staff Report published as part of the RSF contains a table showing phasing for RSF disbursements.
- The First Review of the RSF would take place with the Sixth Review of the EFF (now combined).
- Disbursements under the RSF occur only when relevant reform measures are assessed to have been met.
- For the First Review of the RSF, two reform measures are scheduled to be assessed; the disbursement associated with each of those reform measures is about $137 million.
Ghana: ECF program progress, debt restructuring, reforms, and sectoral issues
- IMF Executive Board completed the Fourth Review of Ghana's ECF Arrangement on July 7th; after Board approval, Ghana received about U.S. $367 million.
- Total IMF support under the program since May of 2023: U.S. $2.3 billion.
- Macroeconomic developments:
- Ghana's macroeconomic situation is improving; growth has continued to outperform expectations and the external position has improved significantly.
- Public debt is projected to fall from 82 percent in 2022 to 60 percent of GDP in 2025 (IMF projection).
- Reforms and conditionalities to sustain gains:
- Boost domestic revenue.
- Strengthen public financial management.
- Maintain fiscal discipline.
- Continue energy sector reforms, including tariff adjustments aimed at preventing arrears and supporting investment; support for private sector participation in ECG operations and overall SOE reform.
- FX and legal tender measures:
- Bank of Ghana directives aim to reinforce the cedi as sole legal tender, tighten controls on foreign currency transactions, promote formal remittance/trade channels, and strengthen anti-money laundering compliance.
- Preferred creditor status and disputes:
- No IMF position provided in-briefing on claims by Afreximbank regarding preferred creditor status; IMF will follow up bilaterally.
Russia: growth outlook and monetary policy
- IMF July projection: growth expected to slow to 0.9 percent in 2025, down from 4.3 percent in 2024.
- Drivers of slowdown: policy tightening, lower oil prices, and cyclical factors.
- Monetary policy:
- Bank of Russia lowered the key policy rate to 18 percent from 20 percent, citing faster-than-expected disinflation.
- Monetary policy remains tight; rates expected to stay relatively high until inflation is on a clear path toward the 4 percent target.
- October WEO will revisit projections and provide updated analysis.
Thailand: political instability and fiscal buffers
- IMF does not comment on political matters; macro guidance:
- July WEO Update projected Thailand to grow by 2 percent in 2025 and 1.7 percent in 2026.
- IMF recommends preserving fiscal buffers and policy space; fiscal policy should be prudent given high public debt, with gradual fiscal consolidation as recovery proceeds.
- IMF will monitor incoming data and reflect changes in the October WEO.
Closing remarks and press logistics
- The briefing was embargoed until 11:00 a.m. Eastern Time in the United States; the transcript will be made available later on IMF.org.
- For unanswered questions, media were invited to contact media@imf.org or the Press Center for bilateral follow-up.
- Final reminder: 2025 Annual Meetings scheduled Monday, October 13th to Saturday, October 18th.
Press Briefing Transcript: Julie Kozack, Director, Communications Department, September 11, 2025