(Corrects attribution of quote on IMF reforms from G20 communique to Tharman Shanmugaratatnam)
WASHINGTON, April 11 (Reuters) - The following are highlights of the International Monetary Fund and World Bank meetings on Friday in Washington, where finance ministers, central bankers and other top officials are gathering.
U.S. TREASURY SECRETARY JACK LEW
ON UKRAINE:
"There is broad and strong unity within the G7 on increasing sanctions and costs in response to escalating action from Russia."
"In a discussion that went on for quite a long time in the room, there was no dissent in the room that it was essential that there be unity in taking action if necessary."
CHILEAN CENTRAL BANK GOVERNOR RODRIGO VERGARA:
ON THE GLOBAL ECONOMY:
"A broad slowdown in growth in emerging markets cannot be discarded, setting off important consequences for global growth. However, we believe that the most likely scenario will be of a gradual deceleration relative to the outstanding performance of recent years in historical terms."
"We must be mindful of the risk posed by sudden depreciations of the exchange rate for the balance sheet of banks and corporations in economies with substantial currency mismatches. However, we caution against general conclusions on this issue without due consideration of the development of foreign exchange hedging markets, which in some countries has become larger in size than spot markets."
BRAZILIAN FINANCE MINISTER GUIDO MANTEGA:
ON IMF REFORMS:
"The end of the year for me is the final limit. Four years waiting for me is just too much."
CANADIAN FINANCE MINISTER JOE OLIVER:
ON G20 MEETING:
"We discussed the concerns about slow growth, low inflation, high debt levels and geo-political risks."
ON IMF AID TO UKRAINE:
"The numbers that the IMF are looking at, well we'll need more than the numbers the IMF are currently looking at, I believe in the Ukraine. But this is an issue that is subject to continual study and review."
"Russia's interventions (at the G20 meeting) were directly related to the issues all the other countries were talking about, so one wouldn't have known that there was an issue actually."
BANK OF CANADA GOVERNOR STEPHEN POLOZ:
ON RISK OF DEFLATION:
"The risk of deflation is something that we all carry around when inflation is as low as it is."
"It's not that we fear deflation in the next moment. None of the real conditions that produce outright deflation, where all prices and wages are declining at the same time ..., are present."
"What we worry about is when deflation is especially low, if there were another shock that came along that put more downward pressure on the economy that would introduce the risk of a deflationary outcome."
"It's hard for policymakers to find a way out of it as we've seen historically."
"The theory that's emerging is that the persistence of the output gap is playing a role in pushing inflation lower than our traditional models would expect."
"Provided that inflation expectations remain anchored and our surveys suggest they are, not just in Canada but in many countries, that just means we have to continue to do our work to get inflation back up to target."
"And that's of course what all this is about, it's about making sure that the recovery is robust and resilient and that inflation gets back to target."
"But the outlook continues to heal and to be giving us encouragement that we are on our way back home."
DR URJIT PATEL, DEPUTY GOVERNOR OF THE RESERVE BANK OF INDIA:
ON G20 MEETING:
"I think the one important outcome is that things for the overall global economy look better than they did in Sydney ... so far the taper has been less disruptive than anticipated. But the next big challenge will be when policy interest rates start getting hiked. This has always been a slight messy affair in the past and that's going to be a major challenge for emerging economies."
ON IMF REFORM:
"I think more time will be given for all economies to be part of this."
ON BRICS DISCUSSIONS:
"There has been significant progress with both BRICS projects - both on the development bank and the contingent reserve arrangement. The BRICS countries are hopeful they will go forward in the next two to three months."
FROM G20 PRESS CONFERENCE
AUSTRALIAN FINANCE MINISTER JOE HOCKEY
ON REFORMS:
"I take this opportunity to urge the United States to implement these reforms as a matter of urgency."
"There was significant goodwill amongst ministers to find a way forward on this issue. We are all very disappointed by the ongoing failure to bring these reforms to a conclusion."
ON MONETARY POLICY AND GOODWILL:
"I think what emerged out of Sydney and has continued here to Washington is that there is tremendous goodwill in the room and a determination to ensure there is mutual recognition of the challenges that are faced in relation to decisions made by central bankers. There's obviously an uncoupling of direction by key central banks around the world."
ON UKRAINE:
"There was just recognition in the general discussion about geopolitical risks around the globe, there wasn't a specific discussion of Ukraine."
ON GROWTH:
"Some countries put forward proposals that reheated initiatives from previous occasions or already-announced initiatives, certainly the multilateral organizations together with the collective goodwill in the room held the feet to the fire of countries that were not doing enough with relation to their individual growth strategies."
"When we made the commitment about increasing GDP by 2 pct in Sydney we really meant it, it wasn't just a rhetorical figure."
"We all have to do some heavy lifting here, we all have to make a contribution. The structural reforms we talked about, we recognize some of those structural reforms will be politically unpopular and they will be. There will be a number of them that will be very difficult."
ON TACKLING POVERTY:
"It is a statement of the obvious that we all want to end poverty but the challenge for the g20 is not to look at specific areas but to lift the tide so that all boats rise."
THARMAN SHANMUGARATNAM, CHAIRMAN OF THE INTERNATIONAL MONETARY AND FINANCIAL COMMITTEE
ON IMF REFORMS:
"We have every reason to believe that the U.S. will act responsibly, in its own interests, its own interests in the global order, and will act responsibly as the leading shareholder of the IMF and will act responsibly as a member of the international community."
ON ALTERNATIVE WAYS TO IMF REFORM:
"(It's) too early to talk about alternatives now, we have every reason to think the 2010 reform will be passed by the U.S."
"We think the U.S. will be minded by its global responsibilities as well as its own interests some time within this year, realistically it may be towards the end of the year, but that's a matter for the U.S. administration and Congress to determine. It's too early to talk about alternatives now, we have every reason to think the 2010 reforms will be passed by the U.S."
G20 COMMUNIQUE
ON UKRAINE:
"We are monitoring the economic situation in Ukraine, mindful of any risks to economic and financial stability, and welcome the IMF's recent engagement with Ukraine as the authorities work to undertake meaningful reforms."
ON IMF REFORMS:
"We are deeply disappointed with the continued delay in progressing the IMF quota and governance reforms agreed to in 2010 ... If the 2010 reforms are not ratified by year-end, we will call on the IMF to build on its existing work and develop options for next steps and we will work with the IMFC to schedule a discussion of these options."
ON GLOBAL ECONOMIC POLICY COORDINATION:
"We are strengthening our macroeconomic cooperation by further deepening our understanding of each other's policy frameworks and assessing the collective implications of our national policies across a range of possible outcomes. We will continue to provide clear and timely communication of our actions and be mindful of impacts on the global economy as policy settings are recalibrated."
GERMAN FINANCE MINISTER WOLFGANG SCHAEUBLE
ON UKRAINE:
"I am confident that the Ukrainian crisis will help us to strengthen transatlantic ties and to rediscover our common interests"
ON IMF REFORMS:
"As a token of their good will the U.S. should finally ratify the IMF reforms to give the rising powers of the 21st century a say in the Fund's affairs."
U.S. TREASURY SECRETARY JACK LEW
ON EUROPEAN ECONOMY:
"We remain concerned by inflation rates consistently below target and weak demand. More needs to be done to support growth and guard against further disinflation in the euro area ... More action (is needed) to avoid a repeat of the fallout from the euro area banking crises into sovereign borrowing markets."
ON JAPANESE ECONOMIC POLICY:
"Japan must remain prepared with policies that ensure that overall fiscal consolidation is not too rapid, while pursuing long term structural reform measures to increase trend growth and domestic demand."
ON IMF:
"We call on the IMF to strengthen its assessments of exchange rates and reserve accumulation policies by establishing the External Sector Report as a key IMF surveillance product."
GERMAN FINANCE MINISTER WOLFGANG SCHAEUBLE
ON UKRAINE:
"The Ukraine has played an important role at the sidelines" (of the IMF meeting) ... We agreed that the IMF has to play a leading role in helping Ukraine."
"In the G7 we agreed that we have to find a common solution."
"We must not make it too difficult for Russia ... we have to find a way to solve this problem in partnership."
"But you cannot rule out an escalation."
"We will have to react on this (impasse over Russian gas deliveries to Ukraine) quickly."
"I assume that it (Ukraine) will be mentioned in the communiqués" (of the G20 and IMFC). (Compiled by Reuters' G20/IMF team)
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