WASHINGTON, April 9 (Reuters) – The International Monetary Fund needs to complete the 16th quota review approved in 2023 to ensure that it has “scary” financial firepower to fight any crisis, IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva said on Thursday.
Georgieva said that she was optimistic that the IMF will win approval from the U.S. Congress this year for the review, which increases quota lending resources by 50%, making more of its $1 trillion in lending capacity immediately available. The U.S. is the largest shareholder in the IMF.
She said the Fund has a “big cushion” of resources but needs the quota increase finalized to provide financial reassurance “because we don’t know what the future may bring.”
“It is not like we run out of money, but we want to be so strong that the crisis comes, looks at us, puts its tail between its legs and goes away. Scary,” Georgieva said.
(Reporting by Andrea Shalal and David Lawder, Editing by Franklin Paul)
