WASHINGTON — The International Monetary Fund said on Thursday it expedited the appointment of U.S. Treasury official Geoffrey Okamoto to its No. 2 position effective March 30 as member countries struggle with the economic impacts of the coronavirus. Okamoto, 35, has been coordinating U.S. participation in G20 and G7 finance meetings and the Treasury's interactions with the IMF, the World Bank and other international financial institutions. But he lacks the experience in international economic policy and crisis management that his IMF predecessors had, including David Lipton, John Lipsky and Stanley Fischer. Lipton, 66, a former IMF economist, U.S. Treasury undersecretary for international affairs and economic adviser to President Barack Obama, left the Fund at the end of February.

Source: International New York Times March 20, 2020 02:26 UTC