Stay up to date with notifications from The Independent

Notifications can be managed in browser preferences.

IMF European chief resigns at crucial moment in crisis

 

David Lawder
Wednesday 16 November 2011 20:00 EST
Comments

Your support helps us to tell the story

From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.

At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.

The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.

Your support makes all the difference.

The International Monetary Fund's European chief resigned last night, dealing a blow to the fund as European leaders continue to disagree over how to fight the debt crisis.

Antonio Borges, pictured top, who was director of the IMF's European Department since November 2010, cited personal reasons in his decision to step down, effective immediately.

IMF Managing Director, Christine Lagarde, intends to appoint British-Iranian Reza Moghadam, pictured bottom, currently director of the fund's strategy policy and review department, as Mr Borges' successor, effective today, the fund said. It provided no further details on Mr Borges' decision. A Portuguese national, Mr Borges is a former Goldman Sachs vice-chairman in London who had served as chairman of the Hedge Funds Standards Board prior to joining the IMF.

Last month, Mr Borges suggested publicly that the global lender could buy Spanish or Italian bonds alongside the eurozone's bailout fund. He then quickly backed away from the idea, saying the IMF could only lend its funds to countries and could not intervene in bond markets directly.

The IMF said Mr Moghadam would be replaced in his strategy, policy and review job by Siddharth Tiwari, currently the IMF secretary.

Join our commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies

Comments

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in