Poul Thomsen

Poul Thomsen, director of the International Monetary Fund's European department, on Friday spoke in favor of a broadening Greece's tax base though he stopped short of determining whether the IMF would call for reductions to the tax-free threshold (due to come into effect in January 2020) to apply a year in advance. 

Leading International Monetary Fund officials and Greek credit sector representatives agreed at a meeting in Washington on Thursday that any capital injection for local lenders will have to depend on the progress and results of their efforts to reduce nonperforming loan portfolios.

The International Monetary Fund has retreated from its demand for an asset quality review (AQR) of Greek banks, according to statements made on Thursday in London by the head of the IMF's European Department, Poul Thomsen. The Washington-based Fund insists, however, that a medium-term strategy is needed to tackle the issue of bad loans.

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) on Thursday backed away from a demand for an asset quality check on Greece's banks after a proposal by the European Central Bank to bring forward planned stress tests next year, driving a rebound in the shares. 

The managing director of the International Monetary Fund, Christine Lagarde, is to meet on Thursday afternoon with the head of the Hellenic Bank Association, Nikos Karamouzis, and executives of Greek banks in London.

The aim of the meeting is to convince the Fund of the stability of Greek banks, according to sources.

Mr. Poul Thomsen, Director of the European Department, made the following statement at the FT Investment Management Summit in London today:

Poul Thomsen, the head of the International Monetary Fund's European department, has pointed to a shift in the Fund's position on Greek banks. 

General Director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) Christine Lagarde returned to Washington yesterday to take part in today’s crucial meeting of the IMF Board of Directors, and will attempt to convince the Fund’s members to agree on the body’s participation in the new Greek Programme. The IMF Chief will have the support of Poul Thomsen, the head of the group’s European branch and Mrs.

In a letter of intent to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) seen by Kathimerini, Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras pledged to set a ceiling to hirings of contract workers to municipalities in 2017 and 2018, and to make changes to trade union laws in order to get the Washington-based organization to join the Greek program. 

When the eurozone finance ministers last gathered in Brussels on May 22 to haggle over debt relief for Greece, Spain's representative Luis de Guindos turned to the International Monetary Fund's representative Poul Thomsen and, according to the leaked minutes of the meeting, said, "You cannot be half-pregnant."