15. The financial sector was already weak before the Baht float, with large
amounts of inappropriate credit extensions to non-viable projects. Runs on weak financial
institutions started before the Baht float, and 58 finance companies were suspended in the
second half of 1997. The IMF program included many measures to restructure and reform the
financial sector. The idea is that a strong and stable financial sector is a pre-requisite for
recovery. This is a relative new area for the IMF, and many questions remain about the way
the IMF program went about financial restructuring and the impact this have had for the
financial and the business sector. Some have strongly criticised the IMF's financial
restructuring measures, given the IMF's mandate and the lack of experience in this area, e.g.