IMF readies emergency bailouts for countries

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Global recession pummels Asia factoriesAsian economies stumbleGlobal crisis hits Bhutan tooGlobal crisis hits Bhutan too

Washington, October 10: : The International Monetary Fund said on Thursday it was ready to lend to countries hit by the global credit crunch and had activated an emergency financing mechanism first used in the 1990s Asian crisis.

The Fund already sent a mission to Iceland, where the government has seized control of its largest bank, and has warned that the worst financial crisis since the 1930s Great Depression could inflict lasting economic harm on the world.

"Yesterday I activated emergency procedures of the IMF to respond quickly," IMF Managing Director Dominique Strauss-Kahn told a news conference. "We are ready to answer any demand by countries facing problems," he said, adding that no country is immune from the crisis.

The IMF chief said the IMF was willing to provide financial assistance not only to emerging and developing nations, but also to Western countries.

"Nobody knows if some ... advanced economies will not also be in need of some help by the IMF," he said, adding that countries needing to borrow will face more streamlined conditionality than normal and funding will be made available quickly. "Very quickly means two weeks at most," he added.

After several years of no major crises in emerging economies, the move puts the IMF's board of member countries and staff on alert that the Fund will have to respond quickly if a country needs financial help.

It also puts the global financial firefighter more at the forefront of the current financial crisis following months of being on the sidelines.

Panic over toxic, illiquid US mortgage loans has sapped confidence in financial institutions, forced governments to pledge hundreds of billions of dollars of taxpayer money and pushed Western and other central banks to deliver their first coordinated interest rate cut.

Speaking ahead of IMF and World Bank meetings of world finance leaders in Washington this weekend, Strauss-Kahn said the main task for policy-makers was to restore confidence and calm global markets.

Group of Seven finance ministers and central bank chiefs also meet in Washington on Friday to consider their options.

The IMF's emergency facility was created in 1995 as a way of speeding up the approval of loans to countries in peril.

It was first used in 1997 to help the Philippines, Thailand, Indonesia and South Korea end crushing runs on their currencies during the Asian financial crisis.