The International Monetary Fund (IMF) failed to give alarm or diagnosis, let alone remedies when problems occurred in developed countries, said Zhou Xiaochuan, governor of the People's Bank of China (PBOC), on Saturday.

Zhou made the comment at a panel discussion during the Boao Forum for Asia (BFA) annual conference, saying that the IMF needs improvement in this respect.

Zhou said he understood that it might be harder for the IMF, a global organization, to make decisions.

"It is hard to imagine that any research institutions could monitor every happening around each corner of the world," Zhou said, noting that regional institutions might have more advantages in this field.

"International financial institutions need reform, and have many weak points," said Zhou, adding that the combination of international and regional organizations would be a good option.

Regional institutions such as the Asian Development Bank, could also alleviate the impact of financial crisis through increasing spending and boosting regional activities, he said.

(Xinhua News Agency April 18, 2009)