Signal The IMF and the G7 have put global imbalances back on their agenda

Summary

MGI observes that global financial imbalances are drawing growing attention from international bodies including the IMF and the G7, citing an IMF publication on understanding global imbalances released in April 2026. The imbalances in question are cross-border investment positions, which mostly widened and reached new highs in 2025. Japan and Germany each held net lending positions of nearly 90 percent of GDP, while the United States had a net borrowing position of similar size. These positions reflect gaps between domestic saving and investment as well as differences in asset valuations, with half of the US negative position in equity. The report suggests that this scrutiny could put political limits on net lending and borrowing as a source of wealth, as occurred during the eurozone debt crisis.