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G7 Finance Leaders to Call on Israel to Maintain Palestinian Bank Links

German Finance Minister Christian Lindner, United States Secretary of the Treasury Janet Yellen, Bank of Canada Governor Tiff Macklem, Canada's Minister of Finance Chrystia Freeland, Italy's Economy Minister Giancarlo Giorgetti, Bank of Italy Governor Fabio Panetta, Japan's Finance Minister Shunichi Suzuki, Bank of Japan Governor Kazuo Ueda, France's Minister for Economy and Finances Bruno Le Maire, Eurogroup President Paschal Donohoe, Bank of France Governor Francois Villeroy de Galhau, European Central Bank (ECB) President Christine Lagarde, International Monetary Fund (IMF) Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva, President of Germany's Federal Reserve Bundesbank Joachim Nagel, World Bank President Ajay Banga, attend a family photo session at the G7 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors' meeting in Stresa, Italy, May 24, 2024. REUTERS/Massimo Pinca/File Photo Purchase Licensing Rights
German Finance Minister Christian Lindner, United States Secretary of the Treasury Janet Yellen, Bank of Canada Governor Tiff Macklem, Canada's Minister of Finance Chrystia Freeland, Italy's Economy Minister Giancarlo Giorgetti, Bank of Italy Governor Fabio Panetta, Japan's Finance Minister Shunichi Suzuki, Bank of Japan Governor Kazuo Ueda, France's Minister for Economy and Finances Bruno Le Maire, Eurogroup President Paschal Donohoe, Bank of France Governor Francois Villeroy de Galhau, European Central Bank (ECB) President Christine Lagarde, International Monetary Fund (IMF) Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva, President of Germany's Federal Reserve Bundesbank Joachim Nagel, World Bank President Ajay Banga, attend a family photo session at the G7 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors' meeting in Stresa, Italy, May 24, 2024. REUTERS/Massimo Pinca/File Photo Purchase Licensing Rights
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G7 Finance Leaders to Call on Israel to Maintain Palestinian Bank Links

German Finance Minister Christian Lindner, United States Secretary of the Treasury Janet Yellen, Bank of Canada Governor Tiff Macklem, Canada's Minister of Finance Chrystia Freeland, Italy's Economy Minister Giancarlo Giorgetti, Bank of Italy Governor Fabio Panetta, Japan's Finance Minister Shunichi Suzuki, Bank of Japan Governor Kazuo Ueda, France's Minister for Economy and Finances Bruno Le Maire, Eurogroup President Paschal Donohoe, Bank of France Governor Francois Villeroy de Galhau, European Central Bank (ECB) President Christine Lagarde, International Monetary Fund (IMF) Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva, President of Germany's Federal Reserve Bundesbank Joachim Nagel, World Bank President Ajay Banga, attend a family photo session at the G7 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors' meeting in Stresa, Italy, May 24, 2024. REUTERS/Massimo Pinca/File Photo Purchase Licensing Rights
German Finance Minister Christian Lindner, United States Secretary of the Treasury Janet Yellen, Bank of Canada Governor Tiff Macklem, Canada's Minister of Finance Chrystia Freeland, Italy's Economy Minister Giancarlo Giorgetti, Bank of Italy Governor Fabio Panetta, Japan's Finance Minister Shunichi Suzuki, Bank of Japan Governor Kazuo Ueda, France's Minister for Economy and Finances Bruno Le Maire, Eurogroup President Paschal Donohoe, Bank of France Governor Francois Villeroy de Galhau, European Central Bank (ECB) President Christine Lagarde, International Monetary Fund (IMF) Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva, President of Germany's Federal Reserve Bundesbank Joachim Nagel, World Bank President Ajay Banga, attend a family photo session at the G7 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors' meeting in Stresa, Italy, May 24, 2024. REUTERS/Massimo Pinca/File Photo Purchase Licensing Rights

G7 finance leaders will call on Israel to maintain correspondent banking links between Israeli and Palestinian banks to allow vital transactions, trade and services to continue, according to a draft joint statement seen by Reuters on Saturday.

The statement, to be released at the end of a Group of Seven finance ministers and central bank governors' meeting in northern Italy, also calls for Israel "to release withheld clearance revenues to the Palestinian Authority, in view of its urgent fiscal needs"

"We call on Israel to take the necessary measures to ensure that correspondent banking services between Israeli and Palestinian banks remain in place, so that vital financial transactions and critical trade and services continue," the draft statement said, Reuters reported.

The G7 finance leaders also called for the removal or relaxation of other measures "that have negatively impacted commerce to avoid further exacerbating the economic situation in the West Bank."

The statement echoes a warning on Thursday from U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen, who said the failure to renew a soon-to-expire banking waiver would cut off a critical lifeline for the Palestinian territories amid a devastating conflict in Gaza.

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US Treasury's Bessent Urges IMF, World Bank to Refocus on Core Missions

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent speaks, Wednesday, April 23, 2025, to the Institute of International Finance Global Outlook Forum at the Willard Hotel in Washington. (AP)
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent speaks, Wednesday, April 23, 2025, to the Institute of International Finance Global Outlook Forum at the Willard Hotel in Washington. (AP)
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US Treasury's Bessent Urges IMF, World Bank to Refocus on Core Missions

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent speaks, Wednesday, April 23, 2025, to the Institute of International Finance Global Outlook Forum at the Willard Hotel in Washington. (AP)
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent speaks, Wednesday, April 23, 2025, to the Institute of International Finance Global Outlook Forum at the Willard Hotel in Washington. (AP)

US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent on Wednesday called on the International Monetary Fund and World Bank to refocus on their core missions of macroeconomic stability and development, arguing that they have strayed too far into vanity projects such as climate change that have reduced their effectiveness.

Bessent, in remarks outlining his vision for US engagement with the IMF and World Bank on the sidelines of the institutions' spring meetings, said that they serve critical roles in the international financial system.

"And the Trump administration is eager to work with them - so long as they can stay true to their missions," Bessent said in prepared remarks to the Institute of International Finance.

"The IMF and World Bank have enduring value. But mission creep has knocked these institutions off course. We must enact key reforms to ensure the Bretton Woods institutions are serving their stakeholders - not the other way around," he said, calling on US allies to join the effort. "America First does not mean America alone."

Bessent said the IMF needed to focus on its key mandate and adhere to strong standards in its lending.

"The IMF was once unwavering in its mission of promoting global monetary cooperation and financial stability. Now it devotes disproportionate time and resources to work on climate change, gender, and social issues. These issues are not the IMF's mission."

"And sometimes, the IMF needs to say 'No.' The organization has no obligation to lend to countries that fail to implement reforms."

Bessent added that the World Bank must be "tech-neutral and prioritize affordability in energy investment. In most cases, this means investing in gas and other fossil fuel-based energy production."

He added that it could also finance renewable energy projects along with systems to manage energy latency in wind and solar.