The coronavirus pandemic and an unprecedented global recession have triggered fears of a debt crisis requiring massive intervention by international financial institutions as well as debt restructuring by private and official creditors. In late March 2020, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) estimated the gross external financing needs of emerging-market and developing countries at $2.5 trillion. More than 100 members approached the IMF for assistance. As of early September, more than 30 members were exploring possible IMF-supported programs of financial and economic adjustment. In March, World Bank Group President David Malpass and IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva called for a suspension of scheduled debt payments to official creditors by low-income countries through the end of 2020. The Group of Twenty (G20) ministers and governors endorsed their call on April 15 and proposed that private creditors grant the same treatment.