IMF in talks with members on boosting firepower

(WASHINGTON) - The International Monetary Fund said Thursday it was in talks with member nations, particularly in Europe, on a potential increase in the Fund's financial resources.

"What is happening now is that conversations, contacts are taking place between the Fund and its membership about the scale and the amount in which this could be brought to a conclusion," IMF spokesman David Hawley said.

"Because we're at that stage, I can't offer you much by way of detail," he told reporters at a regularly scheduled news conference.

The 17-nation eurozone and other member nations of the European Union pledged on December 9 to confirm within 10 days whether they will provide up to 200 billion euros ($260 billion) in additional resources to the IMF, in bilateral loans.

Other members of the IMF have also signaled their interest in boosting the firepower of the Washington-based institution amid the eurozone debt crisis.

Asked what form EU contributions could take, the IMF spokesman declined to comment.

"On the composition of any financing that might come from the Europeans, that's a question to address to the European authorities," he said.

But Hawley dismissed the idea that certain IMF members can contribute by increasing their individual quota, a payment made to the IMF that broadly reflects each country's economic size, which has been floated by Mexico and Brazil.

He noted that any quota changes must be made IMF-wide, among the institution's 187 members.

Hawley recalled that the IMF stands ready to welcome an increase in resources, echoing repeated calls for more funds from IMF managing director Christine Lagarde.

"The Fund has adequate resources to meet present needs," he said.

"But as the managing director has made clear, if there's an intensification of the crisis, there may need to be an augmentation of the resources, that would allow the Fund to fulfill its systemic role which is preserving the stability of the international financial system."