The International Monetary Fund (IMF) is in the process of reinforcing its governance reform, according to a statement released by the IMF on Tuesday.
"The Executive Board met to have an initial discussion on governance on July 21, 2009. The discussion was based on a staff paper that summarized the main issues and reform options from several reports," said the statement.
The IMF directors considered five core issues, including fair quota share, high-level engagement, effective decision-making and representation at the Executive Board, open selection of Fund management (and, more broadly, enhanced staff diversity), and an updating of the Fund's mandate.
A more concise draft based on the board guidelines will be discussed by the directors, who will put forward specific proposals for immediate action and identify areas for further work.
Due to the current global financial crisis, the governance problem of some major international institutions, such as the IMF, has become a key issue. Critics said that the IMF's response to the crisis was not effective enough, and the decision-making mechanism was more influenced by political forces outside the institution.
The IMF Executive Board admitted that "although the Fund's role in the current crisis has shown that its decision-making structures can deliver innovative and rapid responses that the membership expects, more can and should be done to enhance the institution's legitimacy and effectiveness beyond the time frame of current events."
At its April 2009 meeting, the International Monetary and Financial Committee (IMFC), an affiliate of the IMF, called on the executive board to report on governance reforms, building on the many contributions to this area in recent years.