David Zervos, Chief Market Strategist of Jefferies LLC, said during an interview with CNBC on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York City, USA, September 3, 2025.
Jeenah Wulan | Reuters
The International Monetary Fund should review its own forecasting record before criticizing US fiscal policy, David Zervos, the newly appointed adviser to the Treasury Secretary, said Thursday.
“When we look at the pieces at the IMF, it’s good to remember how they’ve been forecasting in the past,” Zervos said in emailed comments to CNBC.
The former Wall Street economist responded to IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva, who warned during the annual IMF-World Bank meetings in Bangkok on Wednesday that strong US economic growth is not enough to put the federal debt on a sustainable path.
Georgieva herself responded to US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, who told CNBC in August that the US could “grow its way out” of its rising debt-to-GDP ratio, after the government’s debt surpassed $40 trillion.
