This event was a collegial information-sharing and strategy session to explore the linkages between financial regulations and grass roots campaigns.
This session discussed the conclusions reached on the global governance role of civil society by the Civil Society and Accountable Global Governance project.
This was a roundtable discussion between IMF and WBG Executive Directors (EDs) with accredited civil society representatives to promote an exchange of views and discussion on key issues of the 2012 Annual Meeting agenda: global economy, disaster resilience, social and environmental safeguards, and global health.
The launch of the World Bank's new annual study, the Global financial development 2013 report (GFDR) and an IMF conference on financial crises, both in September, have renewed scrutiny of the Bank and the IMF's support for the development of private sector financial systems and the role their policy advice played in the global financial crisis.
In August, the IMF published data on sovereign debt restructuring cases between 1950 and 2010, detailing pitfalls in the process including creditor holdouts and litigation, communication amongst stakeholders and the scope of debt relief in past restructurings.
The IMF has modified its mandate for scrutiny of its members' economies, pushing for greater oversight of large important countries. Doubts remain over its ability to influence the policy process in its biggest members.
The hypothesis that IMF lending is subject to political influence, "cannot be discarded" according to Andrea Presbitero and Alberto Zazzaro in the Autumn 2012 edition of World Development.
The IMF's role as a member of the Troika, the grouping of the European Central Bank (ECB), European Commission and the Fund in the eurozone crisis, is attracting new criticism. Deepening recessions in eurozone nations have brought the efficacy and appropriateness of Troika-led reforms into question.
The World Economic and Social Survey 2012, published by the UN Department for Economic and Social Affairs (UNDESA), has called for a change in the SDR allocation formula.
Tentative schedule of the World Bank-IMF annual meetings in Washington DC, from 10 to 14 October, 2012 in Tokyo, Japan.
As the IMF reviews lending facilities, it has decided to commit windfall profits to financing such lending, raising concerns that this may prolong poor nations' indebtedness.
Egypt has been in talks to get over $11 billion in foreign aid, of which at least $7.5 billion will be contingent on IMF approval, sparking concerns from activists over policies likely to be imposed by the Fund, just as it has ended its conditionality review.
