The Bretton Woods Committee hosted our annual Spring Summit on Tuesday, 22 April from 4:00–7:30pm ET in Washington, DC, alongside the IMF and World Bank Spring Meetings.
Over the past several decades, open markets and deepening economic integration have been crucial to global growth. In recent years, a shifting geopolitical and technological landscape has propelled the world into a new economic era. In this context, trade may no longer continue being the engine of global growth it has been in recent decades. Rapid advances in digital financial technologies and AI present massive opportunities for economic transformation. As these global shifts are underway, the core mandates of the International Financial Institutions (IFIs) are as important as ever.
The IMF’s role in maintaining macro stability as a financial firefighter will be crucial as many countries face a high-debt environment and balance-of-payments pressures. The World Bank’s role investing in country projects that spur economic growth will help develop economies and new markets for increased trade. Both institutions can play a role in encouraging the adoption and fair regulation of emerging technologies like AI and digital assets to harness their benefits for more efficient cross-border payments, foreign exchange, and trade.
The BWC Spring Summit brought together policymakers, leaders in innovation, and financial experts to explore a changing economic landscape and the IFI’s pivotal role in opening new markets, ensuring financial stability, and leveraging innovation to drive global economic growth.
Speakers incuded:
- Ajay Banga, President, World Bank Group
- Kristalina Georgieva, Managing Director, IMF
- The Hon. French Hill, Chairman, House Financial Services Committee; Representative R-AR 2nd District, United States Congress
- Klaas Knot, President, De Nederlandsche Bank; Chair, Financial Stability Board
- Hester Peirce, Commissioner, U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission
- Dante Disparte, Chief Strategy Officer and Head of Global Policy & Operations, Circle
- Siddharth Tiwari, Senior Advisor, India G20 Presidency; Vice-President, International Finance Forum
- William C. Dudley, Chair, Bretton Woods Committee; Former President and CEO, Federal Reserve Bank of New York
- Rebecca Patterson, Vice Chair, Bretton Woods Committee; Former Chief Investment Strategist, Bridgewater Associates
- John Lipsky, Vice Chair, Bretton Woods Committee; Former FDMD, International Monetary Fund