Iceland Repays All of Its Remaining Obligations to the IMF Ahead of Schedule

Iceland today repaid, ahead of schedule, all of its remaining obligations to the International Monetary Fund (IMF), amounting to SDR 236.9 million (about US$334 million).

The single repurchase today consolidates 11 separate repurchases that would otherwise have fallen due between October 14, 2015 and August 31, 2016. The obligations were contracted under the Stand-By Arrangement approved by the IMF’s Executive Board on November 19, 2008, under which Iceland borrowed a total of SDR 1.4 billion (about US$2.1 billion at the time of approval) from the IMF (see Press Release 08/296).

From the IMF-World Bank Annual Meetings in Lima, Peru, Christine Lagarde, the Managing Director of the IMF said, “This early repayment by Iceland marks a successful end to an intensive engagement with the Fund that began in the midst of a deep financial crisis. The IMF looks forward to continuing a close and constructive relationship with the Icelandic authorities.”

The repayment brings to an end the IMF’s Post-Program Monitoring of Iceland. The Executive Board last met to discuss Iceland on June 24, 2015 when it considered the Sixth Post-Program Monitoring Discussion (see Press Release 15/299). Subsequently, an IMF staff team visited Reykjavik in late September to be updated on recent economic developments, including progress in implementing the authorities’ capital account liberalization strategy.