AlQa'dah 24, 1433, Oct 10, 2012, SPA - The International Monetary Fund (IMF) warned Wednesday that European banks might have to sell 2.8 trillion dollars of assets unless eurozone policymakers resolve the sovereign debt crisis, according to DPA. The amount could go as high as 4.5 trillion dollars if the crisis intensifies, the IMF said. "We find that delays in resolving the crisis have increased the expected amount of asset shrinkage at banks," the international lender wrote in its twice-annual Global Financial Stability Report. The IMF said in its previous report in April that eurozone policymakers need to build on improvements and avoid fresh setbacks in their sovereign debt crisis, but the October report urged "more speed is needed now." On Tuesday, the IMF downgraded its global economic growth forecast to 3.3 per cent for 2012 from a July projection of 3.5 per cent and 2013's prediction to 3.6 from 3.9 per cent while warning that growth would be cut further if European and US officials fail to stem their economic crises.
