IMF Is Lending Near Record $150 Billion to Counter Debt and Wars
- Egypt, Ukraine, Argentina are among the fund’s top borrowers
- Higher interest rates, geopolitical conflict fueling crises
More than 50 of those borrowers have active loan or guarantee programs — about a quarter of the fund’s members.
Photographer: Asim Hafeez/BloombergThis article is for subscribers only.
The International Monetary Fund is lending near a record amount to almost 100 countries, evidence of its growing role as a backstop against the financial and political dangers of the post-pandemic world.
Primarily because of surging borrowing costs and conflicts, the IMF has had to put out more economic fires, including major blazes in Ukraine, Egypt and elsewhere in Africa as well as in Argentina and Pakistan.