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      The hearing, "IMF Reform: Proposals to Stabilize the International Financial System," will be held in Room 311 of the Cannon House Office Building.

      "I am pleased to announce this hearing on long-term reform of the IMF," Saxton said. "The secrecy, inefficiency and failures of the IMF raise a number of serious and troubling questions. There is now a widespread consensus that comprehensive and structural reform of the IMF is urgently needed. This hearing will focus on specific proposals for IMF reform, and we hope to stimulate a spirited debate about the future course of international economic policy."

      Proposals for reform include:

• Adoption of banking reforms required for IMF membership in order to limit moral hazard problems;
  
• Ending subsidized interest rates, which are currently below 4.5 percent;
  
• Limiting IMF loan maturity to several months;
  
• Requiring collateralization of IMF loans.
  
• Requiring IMF transparency and accountability to permit performance evaluations and to ensure proper use of funds;
  
• Developing alternative sources of IMF funding.

      One highly regarded expert who has integrated such ideas into a comprehensive IMF reform proposal is Professor Charles Calomiris of Columbia University. Calomiris will be one of the witnesses presenting his proposal before the committee.

Topic:		IMF Reform: Proposals to Stabilize the International Financial System
Date:		Wednesday, October 7, 1998
Time:		10:00 a.m.
Where:		Room 311, Cannon House Office Building

Press Release: #105-177

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