Camdessus said the IMF would increase its scrutiny of countries and warn governments when turbulence was brewing up. "We want to show the yellow card more often to avoid having to resort to the red card," he said. The statutes of the IMF allow the fund to go public with a warning to countries it considers are not acting responsibly.

"The only problem is that in doing this, the IMF could worsen a crisis it actually wants to avoid," he said. Camdessus said the "yellow card" - a private warning - would have to be heeded.

Camdessus said IMF's aim was not only to encourage better macro-economic policies, but to stimulate a second generation of reforms, with support for privatisation and better functioning markets and initiatives to fight corruption.

Hesaid he was relatively optimistic over the situation in South Korea. "My cautious optimism for Korea is based on the clear readiness of the country to take the bull by the horns," he said. "If there is light at the end of the tunnel for Korea, it is because the government immediately followed our suggestions." In Russia, he said the main problem was that there were no credible fiscal policy rules and no tax administration to provide the government with the funds it requires.

Camdessus also said that the problems of the 1990s would continue into the new century. "We will still be working on strengthening the banking sector in all parts of the world," he said.