Press Release No. 20/10

IMF Executive Board Approves Decisions to Implement a Package on Resources and Governance Reform

January 17, 2020

On January 16, 2020, the IMF Executive Board approved a doubling of the New Arrangements to Borrow (NAB) and proposed to the Board of Governors a resolution concluding the 15^th General Review of Quotas (15 ^th Review) and providing guidance on the 16^th General Review of Quotas (16^th Review). These are important decisions toward implementing the package on IMF resources and governance reform endorsed by the IMF membership during the 2019 Annual Meetings. On October 18, 2019, the IMFC reaffirmed its commitment to a strong, quota-based, and adequately resourced IMF to preserve its role at the center of the global financial safety net and looked forward to consideration of a doubling of the New Arrangements to Borrow (NAB) and a further temporary round of bilateral borrowing beyond 2020. It also called on the Executive Board to complete its work on the 15 ^th Review and committed to continuing the process of IMF governance reform under the 16^th Review.

“These decisions by the IMF’s Executive Board represent a milestone in implementing the package of actions on resources and governance reform that were endorsed by the membership at the Annual Meetings. They will help secure the Fund’s US$1 trillion in lending resources and its crucial role at the center of the global financial safety net,” IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva said after the Executive Board’s decisions.

“This is another strong signal of the membership’s commitment to ensure that the IMF will continue to have sufficient resources to provide full confidence that it can adequately support its membership, and that governance reform will continue under the 16th General Review of Quotas,” she said.

Modifications in the NAB

The Executive Board approved the doubling of the NAB, from the current SDR 182.4 billion (US$ 252.1 billion) to SDR 364.7 billion (US$ 504.2 billion), for a new NAB period from 2021 to 2025, and a few additional amendments to the NAB decision. The changes will become effective after NAB participants have secured the necessary domestic approvals and provided the required consents, with the targeted effectiveness date of January 1, 2021.

15^th and 16^th General Reviews of Quotas

As the support for a quota increase under the 15^th Review fell short of the required majority, the Executive Board recommended to the Board of Governors a resolution concluding the 15^th Review without an increase in quotas and providing guidance on the 16^th Review in line with the October 2019 IMFC Communiqué :

“Beyond the 15^th Review, we are committed to revisiting the adequacy of quotas and continuing the process of IMF governance reform under the 16^th General Review of Quotas, including a new quota formula as a guide, with the Review to be extended from 2020 to no later than December 15, 2023. In this context, we remain committed to ensuring the primary role of quotas in IMF resources. Any adjustment in quota shares would be expected to result in increases in the quota shares of dynamic economies in line with their relative positions in the world economy and hence likely in the share of emerging market and developing countries as a whole, while protecting the voice and representation of the poorest members.”

Related links:

The International Monetary and Financial Committee

Factsheet – Where the IMF Gets Its Money

Factsheet – IMF Quotas