LONDON, January 30: Proposals for radical changes in the operations of the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank will be discussed at a meeting of G7 finance ministers in London on February 21, The Guardian said on Friday. The plans could form the core of the agenda for the Group of Seven summit in Birmingham, England, in May, to be chaired by British prime minister Tony Blair.The Guardian said the following changes were being proposed:
-- Tightening data requirements for member countries to improve capital markets transparency.
-- An improved communications mechanism for the IMF which will allow it to voice concerns and force changes in policy in a more public way.
-- Update the IMF's mandate so that its role in resolving problems in capital markets and banking ranks alongside sorting out balance of payments imbalances.
-- Developing greater expertise at the IMF and World Bank about banking systems.
-- Making use of the World Bank's guarantee powers in capital marketcrises to help provide an alternative to global banks pulling out credits and speeding up the financial collapse.
British finance minister Gordon Brown, who will chair the London meeting, was keen to take a leadership role in improving transparency.
Brown has argued that a higher degree of transparency, including a code forcing the publication of foreign exchange positions, would improve capital markets' assessment of the underlying financial position of emerging market economies.
Copyright © 1998 Indian Express Newspapers (Bombay) Ltd.
