Washington DC – The IMF and World Bank conclude their Spring Meetings. On Thursday, the IMF and World Bank's Development Committee met and the International Monetary Financial Committee (IMFC) met on Friday. These committees are major leadership and policy making bodies for the IMF and World Bank.
Eric LeCompte, Executive Director of the religious development group Jubilee USA Network and a United Nations finance expert who monitors IMF, G20 and World Bank meetings, releases the following statement on the committees and IMF and World Bank meetings:
"These meetings were full of bad news for the economy.
"The analysis from these meetings is the most troubling analysis we've seen in decades.
"Trade issues, aid cuts and high interest rates put more pressure on countries wrestling with debt problems and crises.
"Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent made many positive contributions to this week's meetings.
"Bessent and the US Treasury want to tackle global debt problems and stated this repeatedly during the meetings.
"It looks like we will see even higher inflation in many countries.
"The meetings underscored that we need better tools to diagnose when debt levels are too high.
"The IMF and World Bank are saying we don't have the ability to deal with multiple crises.
"Development banks will need more resources to deal with the uncertainty in the economy.
"Pope Francis was remembered continually during these meetings. Remembering Francis and his legacy means that world leaders must approve debt relief and create an economy that serves all of us."
Read the IMFC Chair's full statement
here.
Read Jubilee USA's statement on the G20 ministerial meeting
here.
Read Jubilee USA's statement on the IMF Global Financial Stability Report
here.
Read Jubilee USA's statement on the IMF World Economic Outlook report
here.Read Jubilee USA's press release on the IMF Spring Meetings
here.
Read Jubilee USA's press release on IMF chief Kristalina Georgieva's curtain-raiser speech
here.
Read Jubilee USA's statement on the passing of Pope Francis who had focused this year's Church efforts on debt relief and IMF reform
here.
Read the letter to President Trump from the US Conference of Catholic Bishops and Jubilee USA Network on following Pope Francis' Jubilee 2025 focus
here.