IMF concludes review, backs adaptable lending reforms

The IMF’s 2026 review of lending programs from 2018 through 2024 found that its financing helped countries address urgent balance-of-payments needs during the pandemic and other global shocks, but repeated crises and implementation shortfalls left some unable to restore medium-term external stability. The Fund plans to make future programs more realistic and adaptable by accounting for countries’ implementation capacity, using stronger economic and financing assumptions, and expanding risk analysis, scenario planning and contingencies. Fiscal adjustment will remain central when needed and feasible, but directors cautioned against treating rapid, front-loaded cuts as a universal prescription, especially for low-income, fragile and conflict-affected countries; they called for measures that support growth and protect vulnerable households. The IMF will also pilot a strategy to prioritize and sequence structural reforms tied to resolving balance-of-payments problems, with financing intended to support rather than substitute for necessary policy changes.