12/5/2013: What Greek OSI will mean for IMF?

While this story is still speculative, the very idea that IMF can be forced to take a haircut on its holdings of Greek bonds is very much significant. In my view:

1. IMF will be dragged into OSI on Greek bonds, although the timing of this uncertain;
2. IMF deserves to be dragged into OSI on Greek bonds because the Fund has - begrudgingly - agreed to the EU formula for dealing with the Greek crisis that involved no OSI from ECB / EU which would have been required early on to ensure IMF gets repaid;
3. When IMF takes a hit, this will signal much more than the simple 'first time ever' precedent. Because the IMF's close links to the EU leadership have been directly implicated in the botched structuring of the Euro area member states rescues, the IMF leadership will undoubtedly start actively migrating away from the EU dominance toward the BRIC(S).

The disastrous decisions underwritten by the current and the pervious IMF heads in the case of EU will mean, in the end, the vanishing of the relatively unbiased and transparent international lender of last resort to be replaced by the geopolitically-motivated leadership of the BRIC(S).

This will stand in stark contrast to the reformed and much more transparent functioning of the World Bank, started under the leadership of Paul Wolfowitz.