Conclusion of G20 meeting: Report

1. We met in Ankara to review ongoing economic developments, our respective growth prospects, and recent volatility in financial markets and its underlying economic conditions. We welcome the strengthening economic activity in some economies, but global growth falls short of our expectations. We have pledged to take decisive action to keep the economic recovery on track and we are confident the global economic recovery will gain speed. We will continue to monitor developments, assess spillovers and address emerging risks as needed to foster confidence and financial stability.

2. We reaffirm the role of macroeconomic and structural policies to support our efforts to achieve strong, sustainable and balanced growth. Monetary policies will continue to support economic activity consistent with central banks’ mandates, but monetary policy alone cannot lead to balanced growth. We note that in line with the improving economic outlook, monetary policy tightening is more likely in some advanced economies. We reiterate our commitment to move toward more market-determined exchange rate systems and exchange rate flexibility to reflect underlying fundamentals, and avoid persistent exchange rate misalignments. We will refrain from competitive devaluations, and resist all forms of protectionism. We will implement fiscal policies flexibly to take into account near-term economic conditions, so as to support growth and job creation, while putting debt as a share of GDP on a sustainable path. To this end, we will also continue to consider the composition of our budget expenditures and revenues to support productivity, inclusiveness and growth.

3. We will carefully calibrate and clearly communicate our actions, especially against the backdrop of major monetary and other policy decisions, to minimize negative spillovers, mitigate uncertainty and promote transparency.

4. The need to boost actual and potential output growth is a key challenge for the global economy. We remain committed to timely and effective implementation of our growth strategies that include measures to support demand and lift potential growth. As we implement these strategies, we will take steps to promote greater inclusiveness, including to reduce income inequality. This year we developed a robust framework to monitor the implementation of these measures and prepared detailed implementation schedules. Based on this, we will present our first accountability report on progress against our growth strategy commitments at the Antalya Summit. Preliminary analysis by the international organizations shows that we are making progress towards our commitments and that more effort is needed for implementation. We are also reviewing our growth strategies, including through peer review, to make sure that they remain consistent with our collective growth ambition.

5. Boosting investment is a top priority for us. To this end, we have prepared country-specific investment strategies that present concrete actions in order to improve the investment ecosystem, foster efficient infrastructure investment and support financing opportunities for SMEs. We welcome the progress note by the OECD that provides a preliminary review of our investment strategies and contributes to knowledge sharing. We look forward to further qualitative and quantitative assessments of our strategies and based on these assessments, we will finalize them for the Antalya Summit. We also welcome the recommendations and assessment frameworks developed by the IMF, WBG, and OECD to help countries strengthen their public investment management processes and enhance the quality of investment. We also reiterate the importance of mobilizing multilateral and national development bank resources and technical expertise. In this respect, we welcome the progress in the Multilateral Development Banks’ (MDBs) action plan for balance sheet optimization. 

6. In order to encourage private sector engagement, we acknowledge the consolidation of best practices in public private partnership (PPP) models, which can address commonly-encountered challenges. We welcome the WBG PPP Guidelines and the OECD/WBG PPP Project Checklist which provide guidance on international best practices for preparation and implementation of PPPs. Moreover, we also endorse the business plan of the Global Infrastructure Hub, which will address data gaps, lower barriers to investment and move engagement with the private sector beyond business as usual. We look forward to regular updates on its operations.

7. In recognition of major financing needs for long term investments, we also focused on examining possible alternative capital market instruments. As such, we take note of the policy recommendations by the IMF and WBG on systematically integrating the features of asset-based financing practices into global finance. To help ensure a strong corporate and public governance framework that will promote private investment, we also endorse the G20/OECD Principles on Corporate Governance. We recognize the potential to facilitate financial intermediation for SMEs including by improving systems for credit reporting, lending against movable collateral, and insolvency reforms. We welcome the progress on the G20/OECD High Level Principles on SME financing and the establishment of the private sector-led World SME Forum, a new initiative to serve as a global body to drive the contributions of SMEs to growth and employment.

8. We remain deeply disappointed with the continued delay in progressing the 2010 IMF Quota and Governance Reforms. We reaffirm that their earliest implementation is essential for the credibility, legitimacy and effectiveness of the Fund and remains our highest priority. We strongly urge the United States to ratify the 2010 reforms as soon as possible. We reaffirm our commitment to maintaining a strong, well-resourced and quota-based IMF. In reference to our call in Istanbul, we look forward to progress on the SDR Basket Review in November. We welcome the progress achieved on the implementation of strengthened collective action and pari passu clauses in international sovereign bond contracts, and stress the importance of accelerating their implementation. Regarding debt sustainability, we acknowledge the existing initiatives aimed at improving sustainable financing practices, as stressed in the Addis Ababa Action Agenda. We also take note of the Paris Forum initiative, which contributes to further the inclusiveness by fostering dialogue between sovereign debtors and creditors.

9. We reaffirm our resolve to finalize the remaining core elements of the global financial reform agenda this year. We welcome the work by the FSB, BIS and BCBS on rigorous and comprehensive quantitative impact assessments on a total-loss-absorbing-capacity standard (TLAC) for global systemically important banks and by the BCBS and IOSCO on criteria for identifying simple, transparent and comparable securitizations. We look forward to the finalization of the common international standard on the TLAC for global systemically important banks and robust higher loss absorbency requirements for global systemically important insurers by the Antalya Summit, and completion of the previously agreed work on the extension of the contractual recognition of temporary stays on early termination rights for OTC derivatives contracts to include other instruments and firms, excessive variability in risk-weighted asset calculations for bank capital ratios and implementation of the G20 shadow banking roadmap. We also look forward to progress this year on the agreed work plans regarding central counterparties’ resilience, recovery planning and resolvability, misconduct risk and withdrawal from correspondent banking and remittances services. We will work to address legal barriers to the reporting of OTC derivatives contracts to trade repositories and to the cross-border access of authorities to trade repository data, as well as to improve the usability of that data. We continue to closely monitor financial stability challenges, including those associated with asset management activities and will ensure that related risks are fully addressed. We look forward to the FSB’s first annual report on the implementation and the effects of all reforms, including any material unintended consequences, particularly for EMDEs. We recognize potential risks to financial stability arising from liability structure distortions in corporate balance sheets and ask the FSB, in 3 coordination with other international organizations, to continue to explore any systemic risks and consider policy options.

10. The fight against terrorism is a major priority for all of our countries and thus, we reiterate our resolve to tackle its financing channels. We reaffirm our commitment to deepen our cooperation concerning the exchange of information and freezing of terrorist assets, in particular to facilitate cross-border freezing requests, and we will work on modalities to promote further transparency of financial flows. Criminalization of terrorist financing and the existence of robust targeted financial sanctions regimes related to terrorism and terrorist financing are fundamental requirements to actively curb terrorist financial flows.

11. In line with our commitments to reach to a globally fair and modern international tax system, we are in the final phase of delivering the G20/OECD Base Erosion and Profit Shifting (BEPS) Action Plan. The final package of all 15 action items is expected by October, and at our next meeting in Lima, we will review this package to submit it to our Leaders in Antalya. The effectiveness of the project will be determined by its widespread and consistent implementation. We will continue to work on an equal footing as we monitor the implementation of the BEPS project outcomes at the global level, in particular, the exchange of information on cross-border tax rulings. We call on the OECD to prepare a framework by early 2016 with the involvement of interested non-G20 countries and jurisdictions, particularly developing economies, on an equal footing. We welcome the efforts by the IMF, WBG, UN and OECD to provide appropriate technical assistance to interested developing economies in tackling the domestic resource mobilization challenges they face, including from BEPS. We continue to work to enhance the transparency of our tax systems, and reaffirm our previously agreed timelines for the implementation of automatic exchange of information. We reiterate our commitment to implement the G20 High-Level Principles on Beneficial Ownership Transparency and look forward to further progress on country implementation. We support the efforts made for strengthening non-G20 economies’ engagement in the international tax area and welcome the decisions taken under the Addis Ababa Action Agenda on international cooperation on tax matters.

12. We reaffirm our commitment to promote an enabling global economic environment for developing countries as they pursue their sustainable development agendas, including by strengthening our policy dialogue. We welcome the positive outcomes of the Addis Ababa Conference on Financing for Development (FFD) and in support of them, we aim to scale up our technical assistance efforts to help developing countries build necessary institutional capacity, particularly in the areas specified in the Addis Ababa Action Agenda. We also look forward to a successful outcome of the UN Summit in New York for the adoption of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

13. To support the climate change agenda of 2015, we welcome the Climate Finance Study Group (CFSG) report, take note of the inventory on climate funds developed by the OECD, and the toolkit developed by the OECD and the GEF to enhance access to adaptation finance by the low income and developing countries, especially those that are particularly vulnerable to the adverse effects of climate change. We recognize developed countries’ ongoing efforts and call on them to continue to scale up climate finance in line with their commitments. We are working together to reach a positive and balanced outcome at the 21st Conference of Parties of the UNFCCC (COP 21). Based on the outcomes and towards the objectives of the COP21, CFSG will continue its work in 2016 by following the principles, provisions and objectives of the UNFCCC. Annex G20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors Meeting 4-5 September 2015, Ankara, Turkey.