Risks Are Lower but Steps Needed So Financial Stability Is Entrenched, IMF Says

Although global financial and market conditions have improved “appreciably” in the past six months, governments need to act to ensure that stability becomes entrenched, the International Monetary Fund said April 17.

“Improved financial markets and gains in financial stability will not be sustained—and new risks are likely to emerge—unless policymakers address key underlying vulnerabilities,” said Jose Vinals, the IMF financial counsellor.

The process of restructuring bank balance sheets is largely completed in the United States, but more needs to be done by some European banks, the IMF said.

In the European Union an additional $1.5 trillion in bank deleveraging may ...