BRICS finance ministers announced the need for reform of the IMF and the World Bank

Finance ministers and central bank governors of the BRICS countries believe that the IMF and the World Bank need reform.

Reform of global economic governance remains a BRICS priority in the face of developing countries' growing share of global output and economic growth.

The legitimacy of the Bretton Woods institutions must be enhanced and made more flexible, effective, impartial, representative, transparent and accountable, and the voice and representation of developing countries in them must reflect their relative position in the global economy.

MOSCOW, September 11 - RIA Novosti. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank need to be reformed to ensure their governance structures are responsive to the transformation of the global economy since their inception, the BRICS finance ministers and central bank governors said in a statement.

“With the growing share of developing countries in global output and economic growth, reform of global economic governance remains a constant BRICS priority. We will continue to strengthen coordination among BRICS members to make international financial institutions more representative, transparent and accountable,” the document says.

The statement highlights the urgent need to reform the Bretton Woods Institutions (BWIs), that is, the IMF and the World Bank. Reforms are needed to make them more flexible, efficient, trustworthy, impartial, and to increase their legitimacy.

“The governance structure of the BVIs must be reformed to reflect the transformation of the global economy since their inception. The voice and representation of developing countries in the BVIs must reflect their relative position in the global economy,” the statement emphasizes.

The Bretton Woods system took shape in the post-war period and ensured the recovery of the world economy in many countries. In addition, a transition was made to a new settlement system, based, among other things, on the use of the dollar as an international standard and the refusal to use gold in settlements.

The International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (a lending institution of the World Bank) was created, which was needed to finance the post-war reconstruction of most economies, as well as the IMF, which established certain rules of the game in the field of international finance.

The number of votes of each country in the management of the World Bank and the IMF is determined by quotas. Quotas also affect the size of financial obligations and access to financing of the countries concerned.