Abstract
The continued repercussions of the Asian financial crisis and the spread of financial stress to Russia and Brazil posed complicated challenges for the IMF and the international community in 1998/99. Among the Asian crisis countries, strong macroeconomic stabilization measures coupled with important structural reforms—largely in the context of IMF-supported programs—helped abate the crisis by the end of the financial year (April 30, 1999). At the same time, Brazil’s economic adjustments, supported by the IMF, helped restore relative stability, while extended discussions with Russia during the year resulted in a tentative understanding on a program that could receive IMF financial support. Owing to the financial market turbulence, heavy demand for IMF financing continued in 1998/99, with the use of IMF resources amounting to SDR 22.2 billion ($30.0 billion).1
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