WASHINGTON, March 15: The International Monetary Fund said on Friday it can live with controversy and being unpopular but it would like to be understood and respected even if has to make do with only a modest burnishing of its image.

In a review of how it gets its message out to its “interlocutors,” the world lending body conceded it could do a better job of helping the public understand what it does.

Despite the significant improvements made (in recent years), challenges remain and ... more needs to be done.

Improving understanding of the IMF’s work and respect for its competence, and enhancing the credibility of its policies, are key objectives ... and more so than increasing popularity.

But, since much of its work tends to attract controversy, the world lending body may have to settle for incremental and modest improvements in its image, the report said.

Among its advice to itself was presenting statements in plain English and reducing jargon, publishing more papers in languages other than English and encouraging management to openly acknowledge mistakes when they do happen.

For five years the IMF has worked on its image after taking a mauling following the Asian financial crisis. Critics say the IMF made pivotal mistakes in the 1997-1999 crisis and at times had the attitude of a man whistling past a graveyard.

Since then it has become more transparent, holding regular press briefings and publishing a wealth of documents on its Web site. Still, the lender remains less open than some would like. Key documents, including annual reviews of member nations’ economies, are only published if governments give permission.

Last week, Britain said the IMF board was overly influenced by political considerations and that the lender was not open enough in censuring recalcitrant nations’ economic policies.

Demonstrators regularly gather outside IMF meetings in Washington and around the world to protest its policies.

At the crux of those protests is the widely-held belief that the IMF demands governments cut budget spending in times of crisis, a policy protesters say hurts the poor most.

The IMF maintains it gives that advice because economic options have been severely limited due to bad government policies, which it says are the root cause of most crises.

The 100-page report also found the IMF smarting at what it sees as a sometimes biased media.

The lender said it would pursue prompt, vigorous responses to biased or inaccurate media reports regarding the fund and its activities.—Reuters