IMF head pledges renewed efforts to protect data integrity

The embattled head of the International Monetary Fund is pledging renewed efforts to bolster data integrity while focusing on the main job of helping countries recover from a devastating global pandemic

WASHINGTON -- The embattled head of the International Monetary Fund, who successfully fought to keep her job following a data-manipulation scandal, is pledging renewed efforts to bolster data integrity while focusing on the main job of helping countries recover from a devastating global pandemic.

IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva said Wednesday that she was glad the IMF's 24-member executive board had expressed confidence in her ability to head up the 190-nation IMF. The board looked into accusations that Georgieva, while at the World Bank, had pressured staff to boost the rankings of China and other countries in 2018 in an influential business climate report

“The board concluded that it has full confidence in my ability to lead the Fund and it feels great to concentrate on the work at hand,” Georgieva told reporters at a news conference to preview the agenda for the annual meetings of the IMF and World Bank this week in Washington.

Georgieva said that the episode had taught her of the critical need to make sure that staff working for her feel the ability to raise concerns. She said she planned to meet with IMF staff on Monday to discuss the incident and to explore ways to enhance to bolster the reliability of the economic reports produced by the IMF.