The director of the International Monetary Fund Christine Lagarde is once again pulling Italy's ears, who at a press conference in Washington replied to journalists on the question of the Italian public finances: "We appreciate the intentions of the Italian government, but what Italy needs are credible and identifiable measures“, said the French economist, who always responding on the beautiful country, subsequently partially extended his hand to the banking system, after the IMF in recent days first cut estimates on GDP growth (only +0,1% in 2019) and then launched new concerns about the vicious link between sovereign debt and the financial system, also hoping for a tax on the house: “I am happy with the results of the sector, which under the guidance of Bank of Italy has seen a gradual decline in NPL volumes. We need to do more – added Lagarde – the banking system needs to be strengthened, but there has been a real drop in non-performing loans”.
During the press conference, Christine Lagarde then spoke on issues of a macroeconomic nature: "After two years of sustained expansion, the global economy has entered a delicate phase. Growth is slowing down with trade and geopolitical tensions, political uncertainty and one-off factors”, said the IMF director general, deeming it “imperative in this context to implement structural reforms to strengthen productivity and medium-term growth”. “Policies – added the transalpine economist, in the race to replace Mario Draghi at the helm of the ECB from 2020 – must also promote the inclusion and resilience of the financial system. Policy space is constrained by high levels of public debt and financial vulnerabilities. The risks to growth are to the downside and include a further escalation of trade tensions: with growth weakening, it is even more urgent to act through national and multilateral policies”.
“Monetary policy – concluded Lagarde – should ensure that inflation remains on course to meet its objectives and concentrate attention on anchoring expectations where inflationary pressures persist”. In the "Global Policy Agenda" which is being released on the day the spring work of the Washington institute gets underway, Lagarde reiterated his request to the member countries to develop “more resilient and inclusive” economies and to "update international rules to provide a level playing field" for all.
