Policy Papers
2017
March 2, 2017
2018 Quinquennial Review of the Funds Capacity Development Strategy: Concept Note
Description:
Capacity development (CD), including technical assistance (TA) and training, is one of the three core pillars of the Fund’s work. Its main objective is to help member countries build institutions and capacity necessary to formulate and implement sound economic and financial policies. The Institute for Capacity Development (ICD) was established in 2012 with a specific mandate to further define and develop the Fund's strategy on capacity building and provide a clear institutional framework to bring the coordination and oversight over TA and training activities under one umbrella, while building on partnerships with donors. The Fund’s capacity development strategy was last discussed by the Board in June 2013, and the Board subsequently endorsed the 2014 statement on IMF Policies and Practices on Capacity Development. The 2018 review of the CD strategy will include backward- and forward-looking components:
March 1, 2017
Poverty Reduction and Growth Trust: 2016-17 Borrowing Agreements with the Government of Canada, De Nederlandsche Bank NV, and the Bank of Korea
Description: The IMF, as Trustee of the Poverty Reduction and Growth Trust (PRGT or Trust), has entered into a new borrowing agreement with the Government of Canada (Canada), and has entered into amendments to the 2010 borrowing agreement with De Nederlandsche Bank NV (The Netherlands) and the 2011 borrowing agreement with the Bank of Korea (Korea). The new borrowing agreement with Canada and the amendments to the borrowing agreements with The Netherlands and Korea will each provide new resources of SDR 500 million to the General Loan Account of the PRGT, for a total amount of SDR 1.5 billion in new PRGT lending resources. Except for the increase in amount for drawings, all other elements of the borrowing agreements with The Netherlands and Korea remain unchanged.
February 21, 2017
Ensuring Financial Stability in Countries with Islamic Banking
February 8, 2017
Scope and Focus of the 2017 Review of the Standards and Codes Initiative
Description:
The standards and codes (S&C) initiative was launched in 1999 as part of efforts to
strengthen the international financial architecture. The initiative aims at promoting
international best practices to improve economic and financial resilience through three
intermediate objectives: assist countries in strengthening their economic institutions, inform
World Bank and IMF work, and inform market participants. The four previous reviews
confirmed a fairly high appreciation of the overall initiative. However, the related
comprehensive surveys and engagement with stakeholders raised questions about the
initiative’s link to surveillance and capacity-building efforts, as well traction with market
participants and policy makers. This paper is designed to engage with the Executive Board
on the overall scope and focus of the 2017 review of the S&C initiative.
The continuous evolution of the S&C and work under the initiative has accelerated in
several policy areas since the financial crisis. Several areas of the S&C have been
substantially reformed (fiscal and financial codes) or updated (corporate governance and
insolvency and creditor rights) to reflect evolving international best practices, while potential
changes in some others are still under consideration (data and monetary and financial policy
transparency). The overall level of assessment activity under the initiative has fallen
moderately, with a sharp drop in formal Reports on the Observance of Standards and Codes
(ROSCs) partly offset by an increase in other types of S&C based outputs, such as
evaluations. Since the 2011 review, most of the changes to individual S&C policy areas under
the initiative have involved direct Board engagement, and have aimed at improving
operational effectiveness to promote international best practice in the specific area.
The review is an opportunity to discuss how the initiative may be adapted to maintain
its relevance, and to capitalize on its achievements. The review will look at changes to the
S&C and their applications—across and within the individual policy areas—and make
recommendations on the overall initiative. This informal session to engage provides a factual
update of the S&C initiative since the last review in 2011, and proposes a strategic approach
to address gaps and weaknesses, coordinate reviews of individual policy areas and the
overall initiative, and continue to strengthen the relationship with external standard setters
and assessors.
February 3, 2017
Guidance Note on Post Program Monitoring
Description:
This note provides operational guidance to staff on the implementation of post-program monitoring (PPM). It is based on the policy paper Strengthening the Framework for Post-Program Monitoring and the related Board discussion and summing-up, and supersedes the guidance note issued in March 2010.
2016
December 27, 2016
Second Progress Report On Inclusion of Enhanced Contractual Provisions in International Sovereign Bond Contracts
Description:
The IMF Executive Board endorsed in October 2014 the inclusion of key
features of enhanced pari passu provisions and collective action clauses
(CACs) in new international sovereign bonds. Specifically, the Executive
Board endorsed the use of (i) a modified pari passu provision that
explicitly excludes the obligation to effect ratable payments, and (ii) an
enhanced CAC with a menu of voting procedures, including a “single-limb”
aggregated voting procedure that enables bonds to be restructured on the
basis of a single vote across all affected instruments, a two-limb
aggregated voting procedure, and a series-by-series voting procedure.
Directors supported an active role for the IMF in promoting the inclusion
of these clauses in international sovereign bonds. The IMFC and the G20
further called on the IMF to promote the use of such clauses and report on
their inclusion.
In September 2015, the IMF published a progress report on the inclusion of
the enhanced clauses in international sovereign bonds as of end-July 2015.
The report found that since the Executive Board’s endorsement, substantial
progress had been made in incorporating the enhanced clauses: 41 issuances,
representing 60 percent of the nominal principal amount of total issuances,
had included the enhanced clauses as of July 31, 2015. The 2015 paper also
provided initial observations on the patterns of incorporation, the market
impact of inclusion of the enhanced clauses, and an update on the
outstanding stock of international sovereign bonds.
This paper provides a further update on the inclusion of the enhanced
clauses and on the outstanding stock of international sovereign bonds as of
October 31, 2016. Section II reports on the inclusion of these enhanced
provisions, finding that uptake of the clauses has continued, with only a
small minority of new issuances not including them. Section III provides an
update on the outstanding stock, which reveals that while an increasing
percentage of the outstanding stock includes enhanced clauses, a
significant percentage of the stock still does not. Section IV reports on
the use of different bond structures, and Section V describes the staff’s
ongoing outreach efforts. Section VI briefly reports on other recent
developments relevant to the contractual approach to sovereign debt
restructuring and Section VII concludes with next steps.
December 22, 2016
List of IMF Member Countries with Delays in Completion of Article IV Consultations Mandatory Financial Stability Assessments Over 18 Months
Description:
In accordance with Executive Board Decision No. 15106-(12/21), the Fund will publish on its external website a list of member countries whose Article IV consultations or mandatory financial stability assessments have been delayed by more than 18 months, as of the date of publication, since the expected deadline for conclusion.
The latest version of this list, as shown in Appendix I, will be published on the Fund’s external website on or after December 28, 2016.
December 21, 2016
Extension of the Periods for Consent to and Payment of Quota Increases
Description:
This paper proposes a further six-month extension of the period for members to consent to an increase in their quotas under the Fourteenth General Review of Quotas (“Fourteenth Review”) through June 30, 2017. The current deadline is due to expire on December 30, 2016. However, Board of Governors Resolution No. 66-2 provides that the Executive Board may extend the period for consent as it may determine. An extension under Resolution No. 66-2 will also extend the periods of consent for quota increases under the 2008 Reform of Quota and Voice (Resolution No. 63-2) and the Eleventh General Review of Quotas (Resolution No. 53-2).
This paper also proposes a further six-month extension of the period for payment of quota increases under the Fourteenth Review, and an extension for the payment of the quota increases under the 2008 Reform, through June 30, 2017.
November 30, 2016
Poverty Reduction and Growth Trust - 2016 Borrowing Agreements with Danmarks Nationalbank, the Norwegian Ministry of Finance Representing the Kingdom of Norway, and the Sveriges Riksbank
Description: The Fund, as Trustee of the Poverty Reduction and Growth Trust (PRGT or Trust),entered into an amendment of the 2010 borrowing agreement with Danmarks Nationalbank, and new borrowing agreements with the Norwegian Ministry of Finance representing the Kingdom of Norway and the Sveriges Riksbank (hereafter Denmark, Norway, and Sweden, respectively), by which the counterparties will provide new resources to the Loan Accounts of the PRGT in the total amount of SDR 1.1 billion (see attachments). The augmentation under the amendment and the two new agreements are the first three loan contributions to be concluded in the context of the current Board-endorsed effort to raise SDR 11 billion in new PRGT loan resources. These amendment and new agreements became effective on November 17, 2016.
November 23, 2016
Macroeconomic Developments and Prospects in Low-Income Developing Countries - 2016
Description:
This paper is the third in a series assessing macroeconomic developments
and prospects in low-income developing countries (LIDCs). The first of
these papers (IMF, 2014a) examined trends during 2000–2014, a period of
sustained strong growth across most LIDCs. The second paper (IMF, 2015a)
focused on the impact of the drop in global commodity prices since mid-2014
on LIDCs—a story with losers (countries dependent on commodity exports,
notably fuel) and winners (countries with a more diverse export base, where
growth remained robust).
The overarching theme in this paper’s assessment of the macroeconomic
conjuncture among LIDCs is that of incomplete adjustment to the new world
of “lower for long” commodity prices, with many commodity exporters still
far from a sustainable macroeconomic trajectory (Chapter 1). The analysis
of risks and vulnerabilities focuses on financial sector stresses and
medium-term fiscal risks, pointing to the actions, including capacity
building, needed to manage and contain these challenges over time (Chapter
2). With 2016 the first year of the march towards the 2030 development
goals, the paper also looks at how infrastructure investment can be
accelerated in LIDCs, given that weaknesses in public infrastructure (such
as energy, transportation systems) in LIDCs are widely seen as a key
constraint on medium-term growth potential (Chapter 3).
With the sharp adjustment in commodity prices now into its third year, some
of the key messages of the paper are familiar: a) many commodity exporters,
notably fuel producers, remain under significant economic stress, with
sluggish growth, large fiscal imbalances, and weakened foreign reserve
positions; b) countries with a more diversified export base are generally
doing well, although several have been hit by declines in remittances,
conflict/natural disasters, and the contractionary impact of macroeconomic
stabilization programs; c) widening fiscal imbalances, in both commodity
and diversified exporters, have resulted in rising debt levels, with severe
financing stress emerging in some cases; and d) financial sector stresses
have emerged in many LIDCs, with expectations that these strains will
increase in many commodity exporters over the next 12–18 months. Key
messages on financial sector oversight, on medium-term fiscal risks, and on
tackling infrastructure gaps are flagged below.
Read Executive Summary in:
Arabic;
Chinese;
French;
Spanish