IMF failed in lead up

A report into how the International Monetary Fund (IMF) performed in the lead up to the global financial crisis has strongly criticised it for failing to foresee the extent of the risks the world economy was facing.



The investigation, carried out by the IMF's own Independent Evaluation Office, says the organisation was over-confident about the soundness of large financial institutions.



It says the Fund failed to realise that tighter regulation was needed.



The report also says the IMF downplayed risks posed by booming property markets and by the associated financial products that subsequently came to be known as toxic assets.