IMF to conduct mandatory financial sector check-ups

WASHINGTON: The International Monetary Fund said on Monday it will conduct mandatory check-ups of the financial sectors of 25 systemically-important countries to try to prevent another damaging global financial crisis.

Until now, IMF financial sector evaluations have been voluntary for IMF member countries.

The Fund identified the 25 as the United States, Britain, Turkey, Switzerland, Sweden, Spain, South Korea, Singapore, India, Japan, China, Germany, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, France, the Netherlands, Italy, Hong Kong, Ireland, Russia, Mexico and Luxembourg.

The group covers almost 90 percent of the global financial system and 80 percent of global economic activity, the Fund said. It also includes 15 members of the Group of 20 major economies.

"It is a major step toward enhancing the Fund's economic surveillance to take into account the lessons from the recent crisis, which originated in financial imbalances in large and globally interconnected countries," the IMF said in a statement.

The IMF said it will assess possible sources of weakness in countries' financial sectors and evaluate each country's financial stability policy framework and their capacity to manage and resolve a financial crisis.