{ "title": "Transcript of a Press Briefing with William Murray, Deputy Spokesman, Communications Department", "publication": "IMF News, March 17, 2016", "sourceUrl": "https://www.imf.org/en/news/articles/2015/09/28/04/54/tr031716", "canonical": "https://www.imf.org/en/news/articles/2015/09/28/04/54/tr031716", "overlayPath": "/en/news/articles/2015/09/28/04/54/tr031716/index.md", "summary": "Date and location: Thursday, March 17, 2016; Washington, D.C.", "publishDate": "2016-03-17", "sections": [ { "heading": "Overview of the briefing", "content": "- Date and location: Thursday, March 17, 2016; Washington, D.C.\n- Embargo timing for the launched paper and briefing: 10:30 a.m. Washington time, that's 14:30 GMT.\n- Launched paper: \"Strengthening the International Monetary System, a Stock Taking\" (led by Siddharth Tiwari, Director, Strategy, Policy and Review Department).\n- Contacts provided: Media Relations E-mail: media@imf.org; Phone: 202-623-7100.\n- Purpose: Stock-taking on the international monetary system ahead of Spring Meetings; outline of near-term IMF workstreams and calendar of senior management travel and spring meetings events." }, { "heading": "Five systemic challenges identified in the paper", "content": "- \"All of the imbalances have shrunk post crisis\" driven by demand compression.\n- \"The central role of one or two reserve currencies implies that they can have significant impact on others, constraining domestic policy choices.\"\n- Increased interconnectedness and permanent capital flow volatility.\n- Need for more focus on the non-financial side after substantial work on the financial side.\n- Transitions in three currencies (dollar, euro, and the yen) will lead to volatility and strengthen the need for a robust safety net." }, { "heading": "Immediate global priorities and context", "content": "- Priority objectives:\n - Raising post crisis growth in advanced countries.\n - Ensuring emerging markets regain prior growth momentum and resume the convergence of living standards.\n- Key contextual developments:\n - Historic drop in commodity prices requiring broad adjustment.\n - China's rebalancing toward slower but safer growth.\n - Asynchronous monetary policy among major economies.\n- Timeframes and historical reference points mentioned:\n - Last comprehensive discussion in 2011.\n - \"12 months back\" the Global Policy Agenda indicated starting this conversation.\n - Reference to \"50 years\" of dollar centrality." }, { "heading": "IMF near-term workstreams highlighted", "content": "- Capital flows workstream (three phases):\n - Phase 1: Understand the landscape — how volatile flows are and their directions.\n - Phase 2: Assess how countries have coped with applying the institutional view — has it worked and where difficulties arose.\n - Phase 3: Review of the institutional view toward the end of the year.\n- Strengthening the global financial safety net:\n - Stock-taking exercise already initiated; first paper on the global financial safety net and the size of the Fund issued \"last week\" and to be discussed by the Board \"in another week\".\n - Five levels of the global financial safety net identified:\n - One, reserves.\n - Two, bilateral agreements.\n - Three, regional arrangements.\n - Four, IMF at the center of the multilateral arrangement.\n - Five, private sector issues like either GDP linked bonds or private sector hedges.\n- Role of the SDR:\n - The Fund has been asked to look at the role of the SDR and will return to it \"in a couple of months\".\n- Stock-taking role:\n - The paper is positioned as an initial, membership-engagement stage (\"stock taking\") rather than a set of finalized proposals." }, { "heading": "Findings and policy orientation on safety nets and market discipline", "content": "- Institutional remit:\n - IMF mandate covers both liquidity and balance of payments issues across exchange rate regimes.\n- Policy stance:\n - Best safety net begins with \"good policies\" — securing fundamentals and enabling shock response via liquidity or other lines.\n - Market discipline is important, but when flows overwhelm domestic financial systems, measures are needed to make systems safer.\n- On reserve currency centrality:\n - Centrality itself is longstanding; recent concern centers on increased volatility linked to asynchronous monetary policy rather than centrality per se.\n - Special attention to \"innocent bystanders\" — emerging markets affected by external policy-driven volatility." }, { "heading": "Views on the Fund's size and scope", "content": "- Mandated review:\n - Under IMF rules the size of the Fund must be revisited every five years; this stock-taking on size is part of that mandate.\n- First-stage conversation:\n - The initial conversation is about how large the institution should be relative to other buffers (reserves, regional arrangements) and risks (capital flows), not an immediate presumption of boosting resources." }, { "heading": "Country-specific points and program status (as discussed)", "content": "- Argentina:\n - IMF welcomed the agreement between Argentina and a number of its creditors as an important step toward reengagement with financial markets.\n - Collective action clauses (CACs) endorsed by the Executive Board are important; wider adoption is a positive trend.\n - IMF noted it is too early to draw firm systemic conclusions from the Argentina holdout agreement.\n- Brazil:\n - IMF guidance: strengthen the macroeconomic framework to restore confidence and boost investment (inflation targeting, exchange rate flexibility, fiscal responsibility).\n - Outlook reference: \"another year of contraction expected for 2016.\"\n - Domestic issues mentioned: political unrest and inflation \"going over 10 percent.\"\n - IMF view: independent, transparent, and accountable central banks are beneficial; 2015 Article IV report contained a section on Brazil's central bank independence.\n - On financing: IMF not aware of any request for IMF financing; Article IV preparatory process under way.\n- Greece:\n - Mission on ground in Athens discussing microeconomic policies to pave the way for a comprehensive IMF-supported program.\n - IMF position reiterated: a strong set of policies by the authorities together with debt relief from European partners are essential ingredients of a program the IMF could support.\n - No timing provided for completion of the review; Staff asked to avoid public detail while mission is in progress.\n- Ukraine:\n - IMF will need more clarity on government status and policy commitments to engage on policies and pave the way for completion of the second review of the IMF program.\n - No specific timeline or deadline provided for concluding reviews; IMF staff remain engaged.\n- Zimbabwe:\n - Recent mission: on the ground from February 24 through March 11 to conduct the third and final review of a Staff Monitored Program and the 2016 Article IV consultation.\n - Financing constraint: Zimbabwe cannot have an IMF financial arrangement while in arrears to the Poverty Reduction and Growth Trust; authorities plan to clear arrears.\n - Reported loan announcement in question: authorities announced plans for a loan \"in the third quarter of up to $984 million\" (question referenced by press; IMF described the process required to normalize relations with creditors).\n- Russia:\n - IMF offered no substantive comment on market participation or external political pressures related to sovereign bond issuance; no specific IMF view provided in the briefing." }, { "heading": "Financial market and sectoral focus", "content": "- Nonbank financial sector:\n - Paper flags rising relevance/risks in the nonbank financial sector and identifies it as one of five areas needing more work.\n- Fiscal and financial analytic chapters highlighted for Spring Meetings (launches and briefings scheduled):\n - Analytical Chapter of the Fiscal Monitor (focus: fiscal stabilization policies and incentives for innovation and productivity).\n - Global Financial Sector Report analytic chapters (including financial market spillovers from emerging markets and insurance sector trends and risks).\n - World Economic Outlook analytical chapters on capital flows to emerging markets and structural reform sequencing." }, { "heading": "IMF management travel and Spring Meetings calendar highlights (selected items and dates)", "content": "- Managing Director Christine Lagarde:\n - Vietnam address prior to March 17; travel to Beijing on March 20-21 for Annual China Development Forum (will address international monetary system matters).\n - Participation in \"Nanjing Two\" conference in Paris on March 31.\n - Frankfurt speech on April 5 at Goethe University (referred to as a \"curtain raiser\" for Spring Meetings).\n - Berlin participation on April 5 in Annual International Financial Institutions meeting hosted by Chancellor Merkel.\n - New York participation on April 7-8 at the Women in the World Summit and to receive Columbia University's global leadership award.\n- Deputy Managing Directors and senior staff:\n - Min Zhu: Boao Forum participation in Haikou (March 23-24).\n - Mitsuhiro Furusawa and Masood Ahmed: panel at Johns Hopkins SAIS on March 22 at noon Washington time to present MCD paper “long-term growth prospects in the Middle East and Central Asia” (paper embargoed until March 21).\n - Furusawa: ASEAN meeting in Vientiane, Laos (April 2-3) and IMF Japan tax conference in Tokyo (April 6).\n- Spring Meetings event schedule (selected):\n - March 31: Vitor Gaspar to present Analytical Chapter of the Fiscal Monitor at Peterson Institute.\n - April 4, 9:30 a.m. Washington time: Monetary and Capital Markets Department brief on analytic chapters of the Global Financial Sector Report.\n - April 6, 9:30 a.m. Washington time: Research Department launches Analytical Chapters of the World Economic Outlook.\n - April 12, 9:00 a.m.: Chief Economist Maurice Obstfeld unveils Chapter 1 of the Spring 2016 WEO.\n - April 13: Jose Vinals presents main chapter of the Spring 2016 Global Financial Sector Report; Vitor Gaspar briefs on the Fiscal Monitor.\n - April 14: Managing Director’s pre-IMFC press conference and launch of the updated Global Policy Agenda (updated every six months)." }, { "heading": "Process and next steps emphasized", "content": "- The paper is a starting point for membership discussion; the IMF will solicit and receive suggestions from members before proposing specific reforms.\n- A series of follow-up papers and consultations expected \"in the coming months.\"\n- Paris \"Nanjing 2\" conference at end of March and G20 focus to shape the ongoing public and policy debate.\n- For media follow-up on the paper: media@imf.org (attention Raphael Anspach) or contact Raphael Anspach in media relations.\n\nTranscript of a Press Briefing with William Murray, Deputy Spokesman, Communications Department — March 17, 2016\n\n---\n\n\n References\n\n- Argentina and the IMF\n- Brazil and the IMF\n- France and the IMF\n- Greece and the IMF\n- Ukraine and the IMF\n- Zimbabwe and the IMF\n- People's Republic of China and the IMF\n- United States and the IMF\n- Special Drawing Rights (SDRs) -- A Factsheet\n- Proposals for a Sovereign Debt Restructuring Mechanism (SDRM) -- A Factsheet\n- IMF Policy Advice -- A Factsheet\n- Transcripts\n- PRESS CENTER\n- Webcast\n- https://www.imf.org/en/home\n\nSource: https://www.imf.org/en/news/articles/2015/09/28/04/54/tr031716" } ], "bullets": [ "[Markdown version](/en/news/articles/2015/09/28/04/54/tr031716/index.md)", "[Structured JSON version](/en/news/articles/2015/09/28/04/54/tr031716/index.json)", "[Bundle manifest](/en/news/articles/2015/09/28/04/54/tr031716/bundle-manifest.json)", "Published: March 17, 2016", "Date and location: Thursday, March 17, 2016; Washington, D.C.", "Embargo timing for the launched paper and briefing: 10:30 a.m. Washington time, that's 14:30 GMT.", "Launched paper: \"Strengthening the International Monetary System, a Stock Taking\" (led by Siddharth Tiwari, Director, Strategy, Policy and Review Department).", "Contacts provided: Media Relations E-mail: media@imf.org; Phone: 202-623-7100.", "Purpose: Stock-taking on the international monetary system ahead of Spring Meetings; outline of near-term IMF workstreams and calendar of senior management travel and spring meetings events.", "\"All of the imbalances have shrunk post crisis\" driven by demand compression.", "\"The central role of one or two reserve currencies implies that they can have significant impact on others, constraining domestic policy choices.\"", "Increased interconnectedness and permanent capital flow volatility.", "Need for more focus on the non-financial side after substantial work on the financial side.", "Transitions in three currencies (dollar, euro, and the yen) will lead to volatility and strengthen the need for a robust safety net.", "Priority objectives:", "Key contextual developments:", "Timeframes and historical reference points mentioned:", "Capital flows workstream (three phases):", "Strengthening the global financial safety net:", "Role of the SDR:", "Stock-taking role:", "Institutional remit:", "Policy stance:", "On reserve currency centrality:", "Mandated review:", "First-stage conversation:", "Argentina:", "Brazil:", "Greece:", "Ukraine:", "Zimbabwe:", "Russia:", "Nonbank financial sector:", "Fiscal and financial analytic chapters highlighted for Spring Meetings (launches and briefings scheduled):", "Managing Director Christine Lagarde:", "Deputy Managing Directors and senior staff:", "Spring Meetings event schedule (selected):", "The paper is a starting point for membership discussion; the IMF will solicit and receive suggestions from members before proposing specific reforms.", "A series of follow-up papers and consultations expected \"in the coming months.\"", "Paris \"Nanjing 2\" conference at end of March and G20 focus to shape the ongoing public and policy debate.", "For media follow-up on the paper: media@imf.org (attention Raphael Anspach) or contact Raphael Anspach in media relations.", "[Argentina and the IMF](http://www.imf.org/external/country/ARG/index.htm)", "[Brazil and the IMF](http://www.imf.org/external/country/BRA/index.htm)", "[France and the IMF](http://www.imf.org/external/country/FRA/index.htm)", "[Greece and the IMF](http://www.imf.org/external/country/GRC/index.htm)", "[Ukraine and the IMF](http://www.imf.org/external/country/UKR/index.htm)", "[Zimbabwe and the IMF](http://www.imf.org/external/country/ZWE/index.htm)", "[People's Republic of China and the IMF](http://www.imf.org/external/country/CHN/index.htm)", "[United States and the IMF](http://www.imf.org/external/country/USA/index.htm)", "[Special Drawing Rights (SDRs) -- A Factsheet](https://www.imf.org/en/about/factsheets/sheets/2023/special-drawing-rights-sdr)", "[Proposals for a Sovereign Debt Restructuring Mechanism (SDRM) -- A Factsheet](https://www.imf.org/external/np/exr/facts/sdrm.htm)", "[IMF Policy Advice -- A Factsheet](https://www.imf.org/en/about/factsheets/imf-surveillance)", "[Transcripts](https://www.imf.org/en/news/searchnews)", "[PRESS CENTER](http://presscenter.imf.org/)", "[Webcast](https://www.imf.org/external/mmedia/view.aspx?vid=4805438075001)", "[https://www.imf.org/en/home](https://www.imf.org/en/home)" ], "alternates": { "markdown": "/en/news/articles/2015/09/28/04/54/tr031716/index.md", "json": "/en/news/articles/2015/09/28/04/54/tr031716/index.json", "bundleManifest": "/en/news/articles/2015/09/28/04/54/tr031716/bundle-manifest.json" }, "generatedAtUtc": "2026-09-27T11:48:50.920Z" }