BERLIN, April 25 (Reuters) - The International Monetary Fund should concentrate on its core duties, and an expansion of its mandate would not be sensible, European Central Bank Governing Council member Axel Weber said.
In an interview to be published in the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung on Monday, Weber said IMF aid to Greece would be a very broad interpretation of the fund's rules.
'It is problematic if the IMF becomes active beyond the financing of current account deficits in foreign currencies. That is true in general, not only for Greece,' the paper quoted him as saying.
'The IMF must very clearly focus on its core duties. That is balance of payments financing and macro-economic oversight,' he said. 'I do not consider an expansion of the IMF mandate as sensible.'
Asked which specific initiatives he considered counter-productive, Weber said: 'a general insurance role for the IMF for multi-lateral swap lines and IMF guarantees for the emission of public securities.'
Turning to exit strategies from financial stimulus packages enacted worldwide, Weber said states must begin a rollback.
'Governments must exit their special measures in fiscal policy and roll back discretionary expansive financial policy.'
(Writing by Brian Rohan; Editing by Jan Paschal) Keywords: ECB WEBER/IMF GREECE (brian.rohan@reuters.com ; +49 30 2888 5223; Reuters Messaging: brian.rohan.reuters.com@reuters.net ) COPYRIGHT Copyright Thomson Reuters 2010. All rights reserved. The copying, republication or redistribution of Reuters News Content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Thomson Reuters.
In an interview to be published in the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung on Monday, Weber said IMF aid to Greece would be a very broad interpretation of the fund's rules.
'It is problematic if the IMF becomes active beyond the financing of current account deficits in foreign currencies. That is true in general, not only for Greece,' the paper quoted him as saying.
'The IMF must very clearly focus on its core duties. That is balance of payments financing and macro-economic oversight,' he said. 'I do not consider an expansion of the IMF mandate as sensible.'
Asked which specific initiatives he considered counter-productive, Weber said: 'a general insurance role for the IMF for multi-lateral swap lines and IMF guarantees for the emission of public securities.'
Turning to exit strategies from financial stimulus packages enacted worldwide, Weber said states must begin a rollback.
'Governments must exit their special measures in fiscal policy and roll back discretionary expansive financial policy.'
(Writing by Brian Rohan; Editing by Jan Paschal) Keywords: ECB WEBER/IMF GREECE (brian.rohan@reuters.com ; +49 30 2888 5223; Reuters Messaging: brian.rohan.reuters.com@reuters.net ) COPYRIGHT Copyright Thomson Reuters 2010. All rights reserved. The copying, republication or redistribution of Reuters News Content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Thomson Reuters.