Lars Heikensten: The IMF - mandate, means and governance in a changing world Speech by Mr Lars Heikensten, Governor of the Sveriges Riksbank, at the Joint IMF-Bundesbank Symposium “The IMF in a changing world”, Frankfurt, 8 June 2005. *  *  *  The question posed to this panel is "The IMF – a panacea for every illness?". That it is being asked at all indicates that confidence in the IMF is strong today. I agree with those that have great confidence in the IMF. Nevertheless, my answer to the question is no: The IMF is not – and should not be - a panacea for every illness. Allow me to raise a number of issues against this background. Focus on the core functions The IMF has a unique mandate – to promote global macroeconomic and financial stability. This is the fundamental basis of sound economic performance. The IMF’s mission is certainly not less significant today than it was before. It was no coincidence that when the IMF was founded, in Bretton Woods in 1944, it was accompanied by the creation of the World Bank and (later) the WTO – with explicit areas of responsibility. It is important to adhere to these in order for each of the organisations to be able to work effectively and efficiently. A stable economic development is the basis of other international organisations' work. So it is vital that the IMF continues to focus on its core functions – and to do it well.
Fintech is transforming the relation with customers, the means of payment, as well as the modes of financing and transfers. On this particular last point, the potential gains are enormous for developing countries receiving large flows of their nationals abroad. In 2018, according to the World Bank, these transfers may have totaled 689 billion dollars, more than three-quarters of which were intended to developing countries. Traditional business models of banks are now challenged by the new financing methods, thus putting more pressure on their profitability and pushing them, in some cases, to greater risk-taking, which would eventually impact financial stability. 5  In emerging and developing countries, with internet and mobile telecommunications  penetration,  Fintech  now  offers  tremendous  opportunities to strengthen financial inclusion and economic and social development. According to a statement issued last November by the United Nations Secretary General, within a period of six years, 1.2 billion people have accessed financial services through technology. In a report issued in 2016, the Mckinsey Institute estimated the potential of Fintech in emerging economies by 2025 to an additional 6 percent of GDP, i.e. 3.7 trillion Dollars, and 95 million new jobs. The same report also revealed that two billion people and 200 million of very small, small and medium enterprises in emerging countries do not have access to credit, while those who have are still facing high costs.