Press Release No. 17/362

IMF and the National Bank of Belgium Sign SDR 350 million Borrowing Agreement to Support Lending to Low-Income Countries

September 20, 2017

• The National Bank of Belgium agrees to lend US$498.7 million to the Poverty Reduction and Growth Trust benefiting low income member countries.

The International Monetary Fund (IMF), as Trustee of the Poverty Reduction and Growth Trust (PRGT), and the National Bank of Belgium have signed a borrowing agreement through which Belgium will provide up to SDR 350 million (about US$498.7 million) in new loan resources for the PRGT benefitting the IMF’s low-income member countries.

This agreement, made effective on August 30, 2017, constitutes Belgium’s third loan contribution to the PRGT and puts Belgium among the fourteen member countries to have provided new PRGT loan resources under the current fund-raising campaign to date to increase resources available for concessional lending. Following the Executive Board’s endorsement, the Managing Director launched this campaign in November 2015 with a target of raising SDR 11 billion in new bilateral loan resources (see Update on the Financing of the Fund's Concessional Assistance and Debt Relief to Low-Income Member Countries ).

Belgium’s continued support of the PRGT in loan resources for the IMF’s low-income member countries is a critical element towards sustaining the Fund’s concessional lending operations over the medium-term.

Useful links :

Factsheet: Financing the IMF's Concessional Lending to Low-Income Countries

Factsheet: Where the Fund gets its Money