Review of Access Policy in the Credit Tranches and under the Extended Fund Facility
August 8, 2001

Public Information Notice: IMF Concludes Discussions on Review of Access Policy
September 28, 2001

Review of Access Policy in the Credit Tranches and under the Extended Fund Facility—Background Paper
Prepared by the Policy Development and Review Department and the Treasurer's Department
August 9, 2001

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Contents

I. Introduction

II. The History of Access Limits

    A. The Beginnings of Access Limits: The Original Articles of     Agreement
    B. From the Articles of Agreement to the Present Day

        1945-1974
        1974-1980
        1980-1992
        1992 to present
    C. The Access Limits in Perspective

III. Application of Access Policy

    A. Access in Recent Years

        Access during 2000
        Access during 1994-2000
    B. The Determinants of Access Levels in Individual Cases
        Quantifying the criteria
        Results
IV. Financing and Adjustment Under Fund Supported Programs

    A. Additional External Adjustment in Fund Arrangements
    B. Sources of Financing Shortfalls and Policy Implications

V. Gross Financing Need and the Liquidity of the Fund

    A. External Environment and Balance of Payments Needs of      Members
    B. Access Limits and Fund Liquidity
    C. Current Liquidity Position and Outlook
    D. Projections of Fund Liquidity

VI. Access in Capital Account Crises-Some Recent History

Annex 1: Oil Prices and Access Limits
Annex 1 Table 1: Actual and Illustrative Losses Due to Oil Price Changes

Boxes

1. The Self-Financing Ratio

Figures

1. IMF Quotas Relative to World Trade
2. Annual Access under SBAs and EFFs
3. Indicators of Additional External Adjustment
4. Broad GFN in SDR Billions and Percent of Quota
5. Augmented GFN in SDR Billions and Percent of Quota
6a. GRA Credit Outstanding, January 1994-May 2001
6b. Liquidity Ratio, January 1994-June 2001
7. Creditor and Debtor Quota Shares, 1990-May 2001

Tables

  1. Access Limits, 1981-2001
  2. Access Under Stand-by and Extended Arrangements Approved During 1999-2000
  3. Access Under "Ordinary" Fund Arrangements By Year of Approval, 1994-2000
  4. Annual Access by Type of Arrangement (October 1994-December 2000)
  5. Regression Variables and Definitions
  6. The Determinants of Access Decisions - Regression Results
  7. Distribution of External Adjustment
  8. Frequency of Larger than Programmed External Adjustment
  9. Cases of Higher than Programmed External Adjustment with External Financing Shortfalls
  10. Gross Financing Need of Past Users, 1996 - 2003 (in SDR billions)
  11. Gross Financing Need of Past Users, 1996-2003 (in percent of 11th Review Quota)
  12. Access, Fund Credit and Liquidity under Alternative Access Scenarios
  13. SRF, SRF-type, and Exceptional Circumstances Arrangements, October 1994-Present