S. Korea chairs IMF credit group to stem financial crisis

SEOUL, Nov. 25 (Yonhap) -- South Korea has assumed the chair position of the
International Monetary Fund's credit arrangement group set up to fend off another
financial crisis, the government said Wednesday.

The Ministry of Strategy and Finance said Seoul will head the 39-nation New
Arrangement to Borrow (NAB) for one year and will be tasked with getting other
members to quickly ratify the agreement that can increase the size of emergency
funds from US$51 billion at present to a maximum $600 billion.
The NAB was reached at the G20 meeting of industrialized and emerging market
economies in London earlier in the year, and aims to greatly increase the overall
lending resources of the Washington-based monetary fund.
Such funds can be used to stave off a future financial crisis like last year's
Lehman Brothers debacle that caused a worldwide economic slump.
In case of emergency situations, Seoul can call for a meeting of NAB contributing
countries and implement steps to stabilize the international financial market.
Countries such as the United States, German, France, Saudi Arabia and Japan are
original members of NAB with China, Brazil and India recently joining the group.
Seoul, meanwhile, said it can consider contributing $10 billion to the fund
arrangement that may be offered in the form of a loan.
yonngong@yna.co.kr
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