BASEL, Switzerland — The Bank for International Settlements urged governments Monday to move away from “staggering” stimulus packages as the global economy stabilizes and focus instead on reforming the international financial system.
BIS, a key standard-setter for the world economy as the central banks’ central bank, said authorities now need to think about the medium-term health of their economies, and that means adopting policies that spur critical adjustments, not hinder them.
“The public resources devoted to economic stimulus and financial rescue have been staggering, approaching 5 percent of world GDP — more than anyone would have imagined even a year ago,” the Basel-based institution said in its 241-page annual report.
It conceded that government intervention has helped prevent a worse recession.
