Countries that suffer banking crises endure steep drops in output that do not rebound for at least seven years, the International Monetary Fund said yesterday in a study it called “sobering” for the long-term productivity prospects of many economies.
As hopes strengthen that the global economy is recovering, the IMF pointed out that banking crises usually leave “long-lasting scars” on countries, knocking an average 10 per cent from output per capita.
“The implications of our analysis are quite sobering for the countries that have experienced recent banking crises,” said Petya Koeva Brooks at the IMF, though she added that fiscal and monetary stimulus packages implemented in countries such as the US “may help mitigate these losses”.