Policy Papers
2011
May 13, 2011
Review of the Fund’s Involvement in the G-20 Mutual Assessment Process
Description: This paper responds to the Board’s call for a review of the Fund’s role in the G-20 Mutual Assessment Process (MAP) after about a year of implementation. The review covers the period from December 2009 to the April 2011 meeting of the G-20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors in Washington. It considers the Fund’s inputs against the background of the evolving MAP and discusses expectations for this work going forward. The paper does not review the G-20 MAP itself. The implications of broader G-20 Fund cooperation for the Fund’s own surveillance will be discussed in the forthcoming TSR.
May 11, 2011
Anti-Money Laundering and Combating the Financing of Terrorism (AML/CFT) - Review of the Effectiveness of the Program
Description:
The Fund’s Anti-Money Laundering and Combating the Financing of Terrorism (AML/CFT) program has significantly contributed to the international community’s response to money laundering and the financing of terrorism. This paper reviews how the Fund’s AML/CFT program has evolved during the past five years and discusses how the Fund could move forward in this area.
The past five years have witnessed significant changes to the Fund’s AML/CFT technical assistance program. It is now being delivered more strategically than in the past and is almost exclusively funded by external resources. Its central pillar is now the AML/CFT Topical Trust Fund.
May 3, 2011
Poverty Reduction and Growth Trust - Borrowing Agreement with the Bank of Italy
Description: On April 18, 2011, the Fund, as Trustee of the Poverty Reduction and Growth Trust (PRGT), entered into a borrowing agreement (the “Agreement”) with the Bank of Italy, by which Italy will provide new loan resources of up to SDR 800 million (see attachment). With this Agreement, the Fund has concluded eleven new borrowing agreements providing total resources of SDR 8,461 million in the context of the current fund-raising effort, which supports the reform of the Fund’s lending facilities for low-income countries that became effective on January 7, 2010.
April 28, 2011
Preliminary Considerations of Options to Address Excessive Delays in the Completion of Article IV Consultations
Description: This paper aims to engage Directors on how best to promote timely completion of Article IV consultations. Surveillance is mandatory for both the Fund and its members, and members have an obligation to consult with the Fund for this purpose. In this context, it is useful to consider if further steps are warranted to address cases in which members do not consult with the Fund on a timely basis. This paper does not propose Board decisions at this stage. Instead it lays out ideas to elicit Directors’ views. Based on this informal discussion, staff could return later to the Board, if needed for a formal discussion and possible decisions.
April 18, 2011
Managing Sovereign Debt and Debt Markets through a Crisis - Practical Insights and Policy Lessons
Description: The crisis highlighted the importance of debt management in containing debt-related risks and the associated impact on debt markets. The impact of the crisis on debt levels, and the consequent implications for fiscal consolidation, has been the subject of much discussion and analysis. However, there has been relatively less focus on the issue of how that debt should be managed, including how its composition should be structured so as to mitigate key risk exposures, and its implications for debt market functioning. That task proved significantly complex and challenging through the crisis, particularly in advanced economies, with additional dimensions of risk revealed.
April 14, 2011
Kingdom of Swaziland - Assessment Letter for Multilateral and Bilateral Donors
Description: This letter provides an assessment of recent macroeconomic developments in Swaziland and an update on the discussions between IMF staff and the Swaziland authorities. Swaziland faces a fiscal crisis caused by an 11 percent of GDP drop in revenue payments from the Southern African Customs Union (SACU) and one of the largest wage bills in Africa. In response, the authorities have put in place an ambitious Fiscal Adjustment Roadmap and requested IMF staff to monitor its implementation. The IMF Managing Director approved a Staff-Monitored Program with Swaziland on April 4, 2011, that seeks to start the necessary fiscal adjustment, while protecting education, health, and pro-poor spending and improving public financial management. Securing adequate financing in 2011/12 will be critical to avert a more severe fiscal situation.
April 14, 2011
The Consolidated Medium-Term Income and Expenditure Framework
Description:
This paper updates the Fund’s consolidated income and expenditure outlook from the projections in January 2011. The paper incorporates and extends the income and budget projections in the companion papers, Review of the Fund’s Income Position for FY 2011 and FY 2012 (4/7/11) and FY 2012–FY 2014 Medium-Term Budget (3/31/11).
The paper also provides an update on the projected accumulation of precautionary balances over the medium term. This responds to a request made during the September 2010 discussion of the adequacy of precautionary balances that progress towards targets be assessed also in the context of the annual income discussion.
April 13, 2011
Statement by the Managing Director to the International Monetary and Financial Committee on the Global Economy and Financial Markets
Description: The recovery is solidifying. However, old policy challenges still need to be fully addressed and new challenges are arising, especially on account of rising commodities prices. In many advanced economies the handoff from public to private demand is proceeding. But unemployment remains high and weak public balance sheets and still vulnerable financial sectors mean that the recovery is subject to downside risks. In many emerging market economies, overheating and financial imbalances present growing policy concerns. Monetary policy should stay accommodative in advanced economies, but needs further tightening in a number of emerging and developing economies to rein in inflationary pressure and rapid credit growth. Additionally, in emerging surplus economies, real exchange rate appreciation is needed to help contain inflation and support global demand rebalancing. In most economies, the time has come to begin fiscal adjustment by implementing measures to steadily reduce debt ratios toward more prudent levels. Moreover, financial sector repair and reform need to accelerate. Absent major progress on all these fronts, the recovery will remain vulnerable and job creation will continue to fall short of requirements in many parts of the world.
April 13, 2011
Statement by the Managing Director to the International Monetary and Financial Committee on the Fund’s Policy Agenda
Description: Since the IMFC last met, the global economic recovery has gathered strength and financial conditions have kept improving; but members continue to face multiple and diverse challenges—slow growth, high unemployment, and fiscal and financial vulnerabilities in many advanced economies; and rapid credit growth and overheating pressures in some emerging markets. Rising food and energy prices have returned, further constraining policies. Meanwhile, global imbalances show no sign of abating, and volatility in cross border financial flows and exchange rates remains high. The outlook has been further challenged recently by unpredictable shocks: the tragic events in Japan and developments across the Middle East and North Africa. The latter also contain an important lesson for policy makers, namely that the quality of growth—especially its ability to combat unacceptably high unemployment and inequality—is critical to the sustainability of growth.
April 8, 2011
Progress Report on the Activities of the Independent Evaluation Office
Description: Since its last report in October 2010, the Independent Evaluation Office (IEO) has completed its evaluation of IMF Performance in the Run-Up to the Financial and Economic Crisis: IMF Surveillance in 2004–07 and has begun work on two new evaluations. The IEO expects to submit its evaluation of Research at the IMF: Relevance and Utilization to the Executive Board shortly.