Economists propose IDB seek capital increase to tackle crisis

MEDELLIN. March 30. KAZINFORM An external commission of economists on Sunday proposed the Inte-American Development Bank (IDB) seek a 180-billion-U.S.-dollar increase to the bank's current capital to help countries reeling from economic recession.

Former Peruvian economy and finance minister Pedro Pablo Kuczynski said the IDB governors could accept or reject the initiative. "The IDB has resources for 100 billion dollars and we want to go to 250 billion or 280 billion dollars," Kuczynski told a press conference. Kuczynski said the capitalization of the IDB could take one year and a half to two years because the member governments have to authorize the money they will give to the bank. Kuczynski was speaking during the General Assembly of the IDB held in Medellin, Colombia. The commission was headed by Kuczynski, former president of the International Monetary Found Michel Camdessus and former vice president of the U.S. Federal Reserve, Robert Fergunson. This week, IDB President Luis Alberto Moreno announced the IDB planned to give Latin America a record amount of 17 billion dollars to tackle the financial crisis; Kazinform cites Xinhua.