Washington, DC - 16 April 2016

1. Panel members walks toward seats

2. SOUNDBITE (English) Agustin Carstens, Chairman of IMF Policy Panel

"As you see from the communique, we agreed the global recovery is continuing, but expansion is modest. There has been some improvement in the past month, but financial market volatility and risk aversion are rising amid questions of medium-term global growth prospects. The situation may ultimately weigh on sentiment, which is why we must impliment mutually reinforcing policies to boost global growth and strengthen financial stability."

3. Cutaway

4. SOUNDBITE (English) Agustin Carstens, Chairman of IMF Policy Panel

"We agreed that emerging markets and developing countries are generally better prepared than in the past for possibly a less favorable environment, but many of them are exposed to tighter financial conditions, slowing capital inflows and currency pressures. In this context, clear and effective communication of policy stances will be key limit excessive market volatility and negative spillovers."

5. Cutaway

6. SOUNDBITE (English) Agustin Carstens, Chairman of IMF Policy Panel

"There was a consensus there is no room for complacency, and ahead of us, we still have important challenges, and in that sense the three-pronged approach that was proposed by the IMF was widely subscribed and accepted."

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8. SOUNDBITE (English) Christine Lagarde, IMF Managing Director

"I think your observation is correct. There was not the same level of anxiety, but I think there was an equal level of concern, but a collective endeavor to identify the solution and the responses to the global economic situation."

9. Cutaway

10. SOUNDBITE (English) Christine Lagarde, IMF Managing Director

"Now, clearly the question is how much is going to get done back home when they return? How much political force will that require and will they exercise it. It's a matter that we will measure, we will score, and we will come back to them and tell them how much they accomplished."

11. Panel members leave room

Finance officials on Saturday pledged a more forceful effort to stimulate a sluggish global economy.

The hope is that stronger growth can boost long-stagnant wages and combat a rising backlash against globalization.

The finance leaders said they will use all the policy tools available to them to promote "strong, sustainable, inclusive, job-rich and more balanced global growth."

The IMF called for a three-pronged approach including monetary, fiscal and structural actions to avert recession risks.

The commitment came in a joint statement from the policy-setting panel of the 189-nation International Monetary Fund at the end of its spring meeting in Washington.

Markets have stabilized after a chaotic start to the year, when fears were growing about a possible new global recession. But the IMF's communique cited a long list of threats, from terrorist attacks and the Syrian refugee crisis to the shock to global confidence from a potential exit by Britain from the European Union.

"Against this backdrop, it is important to buttress confidence in our policies," the IMF said.

The IMF discussions followed two days of talks among finance officials of the Group of 20 major economies. Representing the United States were Treasury Secretary Jacob Lew and Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen.

The concern about economic growth was heightened at the beginning of this year by tumult in financial markets. Investors feared that China's economy, the world's second biggest, was slowing more than expected, raising the possibility of a global recession.

Agustin Carstens, the head of the Bank of Mexico and chairman of the IMF's policy panel, said finance leaders realized "there was no room for complacency" even though markets have stabilized.

Many nations buffeted by the forces of globalization have lost jobs and workers' wages have stagnated. In the United States, this anger has propelled the presidential candidacy of Republican front-runner Donald Trump. In Britain, voters will decide in June whether to leave the European Union.

The finance leaders said they believed their actions would help stimulate growth and boost jobs and wages. But they acknowledged there was no time to waste in producing results.

"Clearly the question is how much is going to get done back home," IMF Managing Director Christine Lagarde said.

The IMF this past week downgraded its outlook for the economy this year and cited risks that could make things worse: conflict in the Middle East, the refugee crisis in Europe, Britain's possible exit from the EU, and the growing political backlash in the United States and Europe against international trade.