GENEVA, Apr 5 – Switzerland is ready to take part in a bid by major economies to boost the International Monetary Fund\’s reserves, Finance Minister Hans-Rudolf Merz said in a newspaper interview Sunday.
Leaders at a Group of 20 summit last Thursday agreed to triple the IMF\’s lending capacity to 750 billion dollars (556 billion euros).
Merz said Switzerland had to share in the effort when the move was formally approved at the IMF and World Bank\’s Spring meetings on April 25 to 26.
"I estimate that Switzerland would be able to grant the IMF an additional credit limit of a maximum of 10 billion dollars," he told the NZZ am Sonntag.
Merz said it would be "foolish and negligent" not to take part in the refinancing effort because of its influence on global economic stability.
The G20 also launched a crackdown on international tax evasion at the summit, maintaining pressure on Switzerland and other financial centres to carry out pledges to ease banking secrecy.
