Strauss-Kahn and the IMF

"Some countries are well acquainted with the IMF's power. In the East Asian financial crisis the IMF, acting under the instructions of the Clinton Treasury Department, imposed very harsh terms on the countries of the region, insisting that debts be repaid in full. In effect, the IMF acted as the head of a creditors' cartel, maximizing the amount of money that U.S. and European banks could collect on loans that otherwise would have been written down by large amounts."