IMF review finds flaws in Covid-19 response

The International Monetary Fund deserves “great credit” for its response to the Covid-19 crisis, but made some mistakes in lending and forecasting, a new report finds.

The fund’s actions during the crisis were broadly “effective and agile”, the report by the IMF’s Independent Evaluation Office (IEO) says. But it also notes the IMF’s emergency lending was not “well tailored” to countries’ needs and was initially provided without robust safeguards. The report adds some staff came under severe