Christine Lagarde, managing director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), yesterday warned monetary policymakers must be on guard for the unintended consequences of monetary easing, particularly in the way such programmes are ‘exited'.

Lagarde said unconventional monetary policies have helped "prop up" advanced economies, and consequently global growth, and welcomed the dramatic easing unveiled by the Bank of Japan (BoJ) last week.

Nonetheless, she raised concerns that easing policies –