The global recession may have found its floor, but efforts to ensure that the crisis does not repeat itself continue to be frustrated. That was the message from last weekend's meeting of Group of 20 finance ministers and central bankers. There is consensus on the need to stop the obscene payments to financiers and end a remuneration scheme that appears to have no relationship to performance.
But agreement on specific measures concerning this matter remains elusive, as is a plan to ensure that banks have adequate capital to protect them against losses. There is great danger that economic recovery will remove pressure for systemic reform: That cannot be allowed to happen.
The good news from the London meeting was that growth is resuming. Five trillion dollars in stimulus spending has had an impact. According to the International Monetary Fund, the global economy will expand 2.9 percent next year, up from the 2.5 percent forecast in April. At the same time, the IMF estimates the global economy will shrink 1.3 percent this year, a slight improvement over the 1.4 percent decline expected in April.