RFA communication and cooperation
The ESM is deeply committed to promoting global financial stability together with its fellow regional crisis fighters, the Regional Financing Arrangements (RFAs). Close cooperation between the RFAs and the global lender of last resort, the International Monetary Fund (IMF), is key to strengthening the global financial safety net (GFSN).
With the onset of the coronavirus pandemic, the ESM spearheaded the use of the RFA-IMF network to exchange information on crisis-related developments and to contribute to a more efficient mobilisation of expertise and resources throughout the GFSN.
In April 2020, the IMF Managing Director and RFA leaders discussed global and regional crisis responses to the pandemic. In June, the RFAs’ and IMF’s chief economists shared their assessments of the rapidly changing economic situation, followed days later with an IMF webinar for RFA staff to reveal potential complementarities between the RFA and IMF lending instruments. In late June, the ESM updated the G20 International Financial Architecture Working Group (link is external) on the RFAs' recent actions and various initiatives with the IMF during these exceptionally challenging times.
An intense year of collaboration ended with two annual RFA flagship events:
The 5th RFA High-level Dialogue, held virtually in October 2020, emphasised that close cooperation between RFAs and the IMF will remain indispensable in promoting sustainable recovery.
The joint RFA Research Seminar in December made clear that building back post-pandemic financial stability will require international cooperation to face challenges like rising debt levels. The ESM is dedicated to working closely with its strategic partners towards this goal.