Christine Lagarde is having some trouble sleeping at night.
The head of the International Monetary Fund said “quite a few countries” are keeping her awake lately, but at the top of the list are low-income nations that rely heavily on exporting oil.
“I think of a country like Nigeria, for instance, where 90% of its exports and 60% of its revenue are generated by oil or oil-related revenues,” Lagarde said Sunday in an interview on the sidelines of the Albright Institute at Wellesley College. “That’s a country that is facing…a real hardship.”
Translation: Loans and bailouts for oil countries are likely coming.
Several countries are running out of money because of cheap oil.
Nigeria is considering asking the World Bank, the African Development Bank and other international organizations for a $9 billion loan.
Azerbaijan is looking for an emergency loan of up to $4 billion. IMF officials have been in the country doing an assessment of the crisis.
