IMF warns coronavirus recession could be worse than 2008 financial crisis
- IMF chief Kristalina Georgieva said a recovery was expected in 2021, but to reach it, countries would need to prioritise containment
- Georgieva said 80 countries have already asked the IMF for emergency finance
IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva welcomed extraordinary fiscal actions already taken by many countries to boost health systems and protect affected companies and workers, and steps taken by central banks to ease monetary policy. “Even more will be needed, especially on the fiscal front,” she said.
Georgieva issued the new outlook after a conference call of finance ministers and central bankers from the Group of 20 of the world’s largest economies, who she said agreed on the need for solidarity across the globe.
“The human costs of the coronavirus pandemic are already immeasurable and all countries need to work together to protect people and limit the economic damage,” Georgieva said.
More countries are imposing lockdown measures to contain the rapidly spreading virus, which has infected 337,500 people across the world and killed over 14,600.
Georgieva said the outlook for global growth was negative and the IMF now expected “a recession at least as bad as during the global financial crisis or worse.”