Policy Papers

October 21, 2014

Statement by the Managing Director on the Independent Evaluation Office Report on IMF Response to the Financial and Economic Crisis: An IEO Assessment

Description: The Independent Evaluation Office (IEO) has produced a detailed report that provides valuable insights on how the IMF responded to the global financial and economic crisis. The analysis in the report is broadly balanced, and Managing Director welcomes the IEO’s finding that the IMF played an important role in the global response to the crisis, and broadly supports the report’s recommendations.

October 16, 2014

Recent Fall in the SDR Interest Rate--Implications and Proposed Amendments to Rule T-1

Description: The SDR interest rate is at historic lows. Under the current Rule T-1, the SDR interest rate is calculated as the weighted average of interest rate instruments in the SDR basket, and stood at just 3 basis points for the week of October 13th. Market rates could decline further, which could reduce the SDR interest rate to zero or negative levels under the formula of the current Rule T-1.

However, there is no authority under the Articles of Agreement for the Fund to establish a zero or negative SDR interest rate. The wording of the relevant provisions in the Articles does not leave room for a zero or negative rate, and nothing in the legislative history of the First and Second Amendments suggests that zero or negative rates were ever contemplated. Negative SDR interest rates would also have adverse implications for the Fund’s finances.

Moreover, very low SDR interest rates affect the functioning of the burden sharing mechanism for deferred charges. Under current Board decisions, the equal burden sharing, where creditors and debtors as a group generate equal amounts to cover deferred charges, requires a minimum positive SDR interest rate to operate. The SDR interest rate has now fallen below that minimum level.

This paper proposes technical amendments to Rule T-1 and the burden sharing mechanism to address these issues. In particular, the paper proposes setting a 5 basis point floor on the SDR interest rate, changing the rounding rules on the SDR interest rate and the burden sharing adjustment, and reducing the 1 basis point minimum of the burden sharing adjustment to 0.1 basis point. These measures would preserve a minimal capacity of equal burden sharing aimed at protecting the Fund’s balance sheet, while limiting potential departures of the SDR interest rate from market interest rates.

October 6, 2014

Arab Countries in Transition - Economic Outlook and Key Challenges

Description: In spite of deepening and spreading conflicts in the region, as well as, in many cases, a challenging internal socio-political environment, the Arab Countries in Transition (Egypt, Jordan, Libya, Morocco, Tunisia and Yemen) have broadly maintained macroeconomic stability. At the same time, however, their economies are not delivering the growth rates needed for a meaningful reduction in unemployment, in particular for the youth and women. Notwithstanding diversity of conditions, countries should quickly advance structural reforms to foster higher and more inclusive growth, and continue to strengthen fiscal and external buffers to maintain stability amid heightened uncertainty. Coordinated support from the international community will be crucial in the form of financing, improved trade access, and capacity building assistance.

October 3, 2014

Managing Director’s Global Policy Agenda to the International Monetary and Financial Committee

Description: The latest snapshot of the global economy looks uneasily familiar: a brittle, uneven recovery, with slower-than-expected growth and increasing downside risks. Bold and resolutely executed policies are needed to prevent growth from settling into a “new mediocre,” with unacceptably low job creation and inclusion. Measures should emphasize: lifting growth, building resilience, and achieving coherence.
The IMF will help members deliver on this policy agenda by redeploying resources toward lending and capacity building for members facing pressing challenges; strengthening macro-financial surveillance; providing policy advice and analysis on managing the impending monetary normalization, including on deploying macro-prudential tools; and implementing growth-friendly fiscal policies and macro-critical structural reforms. Staff will also build on existing work and develop options for next steps should ratification of the 2010 reforms be delayed beyond year end.
The Executive Summary is also available in:
Arabic , Chinese, French, Japanese, Russian, and Spanish.

October 3, 2014

Update on the Financing of the Fund's Concessional Assistance and Debt Relief to Low-Income Member Countries

Description: New commitments under programs supported by the Poverty Reduction and Growth Trust (PRGT) amounted to SDR 0.6 billion during the first nine months of 2014, and disbursements on existing arrangements amounted to about SDR 0.3 billion through end-August. While this level of demand is low by historical standards, new commitments for 2014 as a whole could still exceed SDR 1 billion. These projections are, however, subject to considerable uncertainty regarding progress with ongoing program negotiations.

October 3, 2014

Provisional Agenda for the Thirtieth Meeting of the International Monetary and Financial Committee

Description: The following is the provisional agenda for the Thirtieth Meeting of the International Monetary and Financial Committee, which is to be convened at the IMF's Headquarters in Washington, D.C. on October 11, 2014.

September 25, 2014

Managing Director’s Statement on the 2014 Triennial Surveillance Review

September 18, 2014

Macroeconomic Developments in Low-Income Developing Countries: 2014 Report

Description: This report examines macroeconomic developments and related vulnerabilities in low-income developing countries (LIDCs)—a group of 60 countries that have markedly different economic features to higher income countries and are eligible for concessional financing from both the IMF and the World Bank. Collectively, they account for about one-fifth of the world’s Population.

September 11, 2014

Report on the Incidence of Longer-Term Program Engagement

Description: Longer-term program engagement (LTPE) occurs when a member has spent at least seven of the past 10 years under Fund-supported financial arrangements. In response to the Executive Board’s request for periodic updates on the incidence of LTPEs, this is the fifteenth such report and provides information through September 1, 2014

September 5, 2014

Safeguards Assessments - 2014 Update

Description: The safeguards policy aims to mitigate the potential risks of misuse of resources, including Fund resources, and misreporting of program monetary data. The policy, introduced in 2000, is an integral part of the Fund’s financing policies and complements other safeguards, such as program design, conditionality, and access limits. Safeguards assessments of central banks of the borrowing member are required for almost all forms of Fund financing, and are followed by a period of monitoring for as long as Fund credit is outstanding.