Rethinking FinanceAlternative voices for a new financial architecture

"In the context of the rapidly developing global financial crisis, it would be prudent for regulatory authorities, concerned citizens, and decision-makers to focus on the implementation of strong transparency and accountability requirements for alternative investments, as well as the common use – even by public financial institutions – of secrecy jurisdictions."

The IMF had suffered a sharp decline in its lending business in recent years until the present global financial crisis led to a resurgence in lending. The Group of 20 (G20) has empowered the IMF by making it the key lending institution for crisis-affected countries in need of balance of payments support. As a result, the IMF’s lending portfolio has seen a sudden boost, and the cumulative amount of its loans now stands at $47.9 billion.

While the financial crisis and its consequences are spreading around the world and even the most erstwhile ‘free market’ governments are discussing how to re-regulate the financial sector, bilateral and regional ‘free trade’ agreements continue extreme deregulation of the financial industry.

Since the current financial crisis started, none of the governments, experts or media who have called for new regulations for the financial industry have taken into account rules of the World Trade Organisation (WTO) which actually impose extreme financial service deregulation on many WTO member countries. Worse, the heads of the G-20 country governments called for finalising the WTO’s current ‘Doha Round’ of negotiations to liberalise trade.