Global lender: IMF accused of suppressing information

IMF economist says IMF’s failures in issuing timely warnings were a “failing in the first order.”

WASHINGTON: A veteran economist at the International Monetary Fund (IMF) Peter Doyle has accused the global lender of suppressing information on difficulties in dealing with the global financial meltdown and the euro zone crisis. In a resignation letter to the IMF, dated June 18, Doyle said the IMF’s failures in issuing timely warnings for both the 2007-2009 global financial crisis and the euro zone crisis were a “failing in the first order” and “are, if anything, becoming more deeply entrenched.” His letter has brought to light simmering tensions within the IMF over the organisation’s credibility, which many worry is threatened by its role in the euro zone crisis. IMF insiders told Reuters the concerns are that the lender has over-stretched by lending to Europe without exercising the same level of independence it would apply in bailouts to emerging economies.

Published in The Express Tribune, July 22^nd, 2012.