The IMF asks to 'remain vigilant' in the face of 'high' financial uncertainty

The managing director of the International Monetary Fund, Kristalina Georgieva, called on Sunday to "remain vigilant" in the face of "uncertainty" in the financial sector, which remains "high".

The bankruptcy of the Californian bank Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) on March 10 generated a wave of concern in the banking sector in the United States and Europe, which included among its milestones the hasty sale of the Swiss entity Credit Suisse to its compatriot UBS a few days ago. week, or the losses on the stock market of Deutsche Bank.

"It is clear that the risks to financial stability have increased," Kristalina Georgieva told a forum on China's development, an event organized in Beijing by the Chinese government.

And it is that the purchase of Credit Suisse by UBS, piloted by the Swiss authorities, like the recent measures of the central banks to improve access to liquidity, prevented panic but failed to restore calm to the financial markets.

"Political leaders have taken decisive measures in response to the risks that weigh on financial stability," the IMF managing director assessed in her speech.

The failure of Silicon Valley Bank's generated a wave of financial uncertainty.

Photo AP Photo/ Benjamin,

"These measures have somewhat eased the tensions in the markets, but uncertainty remains high, which underscores the need to remain vigilant," he argued.

Meanwhile, the agency's board of directors will deal "very soon" with the Argentine case to approve the US$ 5.3 billion agreed after the approval of the technical review of the staff, which took place last week, and according to compliance with the current program between organization and Argentina.

"We hope that the board meeting will take place very soon, in line with the regular cycle of the first quarter program objectives" of 2023, Julie Kozack said this morning, in her first press conference as an IMF spokesperson.

Kozack was until the end of last year the Fund's mission chief in the Argentine case.

The spokesperson explained that "typically there is a period of time" that the board of directors takes from the approval of the technical review, which in the Argentine case was the last March 13, where the review of reserve goals was also agreed to the period 2023.

On March 13, the Government and the technical staff of the IMF reached an agreement around the fourth review within the framework of the Extended Facilities agreement, which is now subject to the approval of the Executive Board of the multilateral organization.

Once the review is complete, Argentina will have access to around US$5.3 billion (about SDR 4 billion, the IMF currency).

"In a more challenging economic context, particularly the increasingly severe drought, stronger policy actions are needed to safeguard stability, address rising inflation and policy setbacks, as well as maintain the program's anchor," he summarized. Kozack, without further details, awaiting the pronouncement of the agency's board of directors.

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