G-20 Nations Could Pledge Billions to Provide Aid
Markets think this weekend's meeting of the G-20 is going to be a non-event, but sources have told CNBC that there could be at least one important development: the potential for creditor nations to pledge hundreds of billions of dollars to support aid programs for countries caught up in the credit crisis.
"We could hear this weekend about pledges from creditor nations to supplement IMF resources," a source at the International Monetary Fund told CNBC.
Those resources, other sources said, could mean pledges from nations, such as China and Saudi Arabia, which have large surpluses, to developing countries. Hungary, Iceland and Ukraine have already received IMF aid to help them deal with the credit crisis.
The IMF has publicly said it has $250 billion in liquidity and has no immediate need for cash. But that could change as the effects of the global economic downturn spread.
More on the G20:
C. Fred Bergsten, writing in the Washington Post yesterday, suggested the need for a $500 billion fund.
