IMF Puts Four More European Nations on Financial Risk List

The International Monetary Fund has added Denmark, Finland, Norway and Poland to its list of countries that must have mandatory check-ups of their financial sectors - ongoing protocols to ensure a financial crisis is not repeated.

The IMF has imposed stricter rules to watch out for the countries which it describes as "systemically important" to the international financial system.

In 2010 the IMF put 25 countries on a watch list, which means undergoing mandatory financial sector assessments; these checks had been voluntary before the financial crisis.

Currently more than half of the 29 financial sectors that are believed to be dangerous are located in Europe.

"The financial sectors of these jurisdictions are highly interconnected not just with each other but also with other major financial centres," the IMF said in a statement.

"This makes them central nodes in the global financial network and important for global systemic stability."

The IMF also released new methodology that will change the way it views the relationship between banking sectors of countries and their government's fiscal position.

Under the new method, the IMF said it will now view a country's financial stability in relation to the banking sectors of neighbouring nations. In the past it just focused on the size of each financial sector.

One concern voiced by the IMF executive board was that the obligation to now check up on 29 countries means it could omit making non-mandatory financial checks on other nations.