IMF Admits Debt Structuring Woes, Crypto Ban Mulled

Group of 20 (G20) nations have some disagreements over restructuring debt for distressed economies, the chief of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) said, adding that banning private cryptocurrencies should be an option, Aftab Ahmed and Sarita Chaganti Singh reported for Reuters.

Photo Insert: The IMF is mulling a ban on crypto.

India's G20 presidency comes as its South Asian neighbors Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Pakistan are seeking urgent IMF funds due to an economic slowdown caused by the COVID-19 pandemic and the Russia-Ukraine war.

China, the world's largest bilateral creditor, urged big economies on Friday to conduct a fair, objective, and in-depth analysis of the causes of global debt issues as clamor grows for lenders to take a large cut, or accept losses, on loans.

"On debt restructuring, while there are still some disagreements, we now have the global sovereign debt roundtable with consideration of all public and private creditors," IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva told reporters after chairing the roundtable with Indian Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman.

"We just finished a session in which it was clear that there is a commitment to bridge differences for the benefit of countries."

US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said there were no "deliverables" from the meeting, which was mostly organizational.

Further discussions of the panel, which includes major bilateral creditors including China, India and the G7 countries, several debtor countries, are planned around the time of the IMF and World Bank spring meetings in April.

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