UK Prime Minister Tony Blair made a speech at the New York Stock Exchange arguing that the World Bank and IMF have fundamental weaknesses and need to be reformed. As Chair of the G8 countries, he will set a time limit of one year to debate and decide on changes to take the Bank and Fund forward.
Proposals include merging some Bank and Fund functions, making private capital holdings more transparent, and fiscal and financial reporting standards for countries receiving IMF loans. He also urged “improved openness in procedures, and more systematic external evaluations of IMF policies. It is important too that programmes should take full account of their impact on the poorest sections of society.”
