IMF estimates necessary global write-downs: $4.1 trillion

Lots of big, depressing, IMF-related news this morning: The IMF released its biannual Global Financial Stability Report. The big news: the global economy may need $4.1 trillion in write-downs on around $58 trillion in assets before the crisis is over.  It estimates that the United States leads the world in ripping the bandaid off — ...

Lots of big, depressing, IMF-related news this morning:

Lots of big, depressing, IMF-related news this morning:

  • The IMF released its biannual Global Financial Stability Report. The big news: the global economy may need $4.1 trillion in write-downs on around $58 trillion in assets before the crisis is over.  It estimates that the United States leads the world in ripping the bandaid off — completing about half of necessary write-downs; European countries are lagging. Banks will take the brunt of that cost, around two-thirds. The report included European- and Japanese-originated assets for the first time.
  • U.S. President Barack Obama sent a message to members of Congress, asking for them to approve a $100 billion loan to the IMF. The loan is part of, not in addition to, the money the United States promised the organization at the G-20 summit.
  • Colombia became the third country to come forward and seek a $10 billion "flexible credit line" loan from the IMF, designed to insure the country’s ability to meet its spending requirements.
  • Look for the first two chapters of the IMF’s World Economic Outlook  to be released within the next hour or so. We’ll have an analysis up as soon as possible afterwards. 
Annie Lowrey is assistant editor at FP.

More from Foreign Policy

Newspapers in Tehran feature on their front page news about the China-brokered deal between Iran and Saudi Arabia to restore ties, signed in Beijing the previous day, on March, 11 2023.
Newspapers in Tehran feature on their front page news about the China-brokered deal between Iran and Saudi Arabia to restore ties, signed in Beijing the previous day, on March, 11 2023.

Saudi-Iranian Détente Is a Wake-Up Call for America

The peace plan is a big deal—and it’s no accident that China brokered it.

Austin and Gallant stand at podiums side by side next to each others' national flags.
Austin and Gallant stand at podiums side by side next to each others' national flags.

The U.S.-Israel Relationship No Longer Makes Sense

If Israel and its supporters want the country to continue receiving U.S. largesse, they will need to come up with a new narrative.

Russian President Vladimir Putin lays flowers at the Moscow Kremlin Wall in the Alexander Garden during an event marking Defender of the Fatherland Day in Moscow.
Russian President Vladimir Putin lays flowers at the Moscow Kremlin Wall in the Alexander Garden during an event marking Defender of the Fatherland Day in Moscow.

Putin Is Trapped in the Sunk-Cost Fallacy of War

Moscow is grasping for meaning in a meaningless invasion.

An Iranian man holds a newspaper reporting the China-brokered deal between Iran and Saudi Arabia to restore ties, in Tehran on March 11.
An Iranian man holds a newspaper reporting the China-brokered deal between Iran and Saudi Arabia to restore ties, in Tehran on March 11.

How China’s Saudi-Iran Deal Can Serve U.S. Interests

And why there’s less to Beijing’s diplomatic breakthrough than meets the eye.