The Global Financial Safety Net System Confronted with Regional Agreements
The Global Financial Safety Net (GFSN) has evolved over the past decade. While the IMF remains at its centre and even more after the August 2021 SDR allocation, its regional dimension has been comforted by the establishment of the European Stability Mechanism in the euro area. The other striking feature of the GFSN evolution has been the robust growth of foreign exchange reserves, indicating a persistent resistance to calling on the IMF and a preference for self-insurance. This article presents a historical analysis of financial crises in the past thirty years. These findings highlight that these crises have a strong regional component, which calls for a GFSN, stronger at the global rather than at the regional level.