IMF sees G20 focus on growth, jobs, euro crisis

A Group of 20 summit in Mexico next week will likely focus on ways to spur global growth, job creation and on the euro zone debt crisis, the International Monetary Fund said on Thursday.

The meeting of developed and developing countries will also assess progress made in raising new resources for the IMF, Gerry Rice, spokesman for the IMF, told reporters. He denied there was backtracking or delays by some donors to make good on their promises to bolster the IMF's war chest by $430 billion.

Frustrated with the slow pace of IMF voting reforms, Brazil has said it would not contribute fresh money to the IMF until there was headway in giving emerging economies greater say in the fund.

Rice said the G20, at the leaders' summit next Monday and Tuesday in Los Cabos, Mexico, will review progress in coming up with the new money. "Discussions have continued with the various donors, and it was never expected the package would be completed with every detail fixed by this time," he added.

The G20 meeting comes just after Greek voters go to the polls on Sunday in an election that is expected to determine whether the debt-stricken country stays in the euro zone.

Rice said the IMF was ready to engage with Greece's new government on the future of a 130 billion euro international bailout package, partly funded by the IMF, once the election was over.

"We need to take this one step at a time," Rice said. "We should respect the democratic process in Greece and once there is a new government, the IMF will engage in a dialogue with it."

Meanwhile, Rice said an IMF assessment of the Spanish economy, part of annual consultations with the government, will wrap up its work on Friday in Madrid. He said the Spanish authorities had not requested IMF financial help to deal with the country's banking crisis.

Rice said the IMF believed that the 100 billion euro EU backstop to deal with troubled Spanish banks agreed last Saturday was the "right step."

"It is also important that the reform program that the Spanish government has undertaken continues to be implemented, as they are doing, and there has been no request for IMF financial assistance nor are there any plans at the IMF for such assistance," he added.

He said the IMF thought it "desirable" that the Europeans strengthen their crisis management instruments and stand ready to use a pan-European facility to take direct stakes in banks, as opposed to doing it through governments.

Copyright @Thomson Reuters 2012