Policy Papers
2010
March 1, 2010
Ex Post Evaluations of Exceptional Access Arrangements—Revised Guidance Note
Description: In the 2002 Board discussion on Access Policy in Capital Account Crises, Directors agreed to require an ex post evaluation (EPE) by the staff of GRA-supported programs supported by exceptional access within a year after the end of the arrangement. This revised note provides operational guidance on the content and procedures for EPEs. In terms of coverage, the EPE policy encompasses all exceptional access GRA-supported programs, including high-access precautionary arrangements. The policy would exclude programs no longer considered exceptional access under the new access policy because their access limits are within the new normal access limits. While it is generally assumed that an EPE would be tailored to fit individual country circumstances, multiple-country EPEs are also permitted if they are considered feasible in terms of comparability of issues of interest.
February 26, 2010
Government Finance Statistics to Strengthen Fiscal Analysis
Description:
This paper seeks Board approval of a phased migration strategy for implementing the GFSM 2001 as the standard for Fund fiscal data. The financial crisis has underscored the need for better and more comparable fiscal data, including on government assets and liabilities.
In 2005, the Board endorsed the Government Finance Statistics Manual 2001 (GFSM 2001) and asked staff to propose a migration strategy for the Fund, based on lessons to be drawn from conducting pilot studies.
The pilot studies and other tests confirmed that some aspects of the GFSM 2001 methodology (primarily relating to presentation) can be implemented by staff with relatively modest resource needs, while other aspects can proceed meaningfully only after member countries have made sufficient progress in their own fiscal reporting—including in detailed balance sheet breakdowns, and in strengthening underlying accounting systems.
February 22, 2010
Broadening Financial Indicators in the Special Data Dissemination Standard
Description:
In December 2008, the IMF Executive Board discussed the Seventh Review of Data Standards Initiatives, and Directors requested staff to return to the Board within about a year with a proposal for the inclusion of selected financial indicators in the Special Data Dissemination Standard (SDDS). This paper responds to the 2008 request taking into account recent developments.
The recent financial crisis has heightened the need for policymakers, financial regulators and capital market participants to put in place conditions that would help prevent the occurrence of similar crises in the future. One of the areas identified by the international community as key in crises prevention is the availability of timely and more detailed financial data that could provide early warning signals of impending risks and vulnerabilities.
February 12, 2010
Borrowing Agreement with National Bank of Belgium
Description: In light of the multilateral effort to ensure the adequacy of the financial resources available to the International Monetary Fund, and with a view to supporting the Fund’s ability to provide timely and effective balance of payments assistance to its members, the National Bank of Belgium agrees to lend to the Fund an SDR denominated amount up to the equivalent of EUR 4.74 billion, on the terms and conditions set out in this policy paper.
February 12, 2010
Borrowing Agreement with Slovak Republic
Description: In light of the multilateral effort to ensure the adequacy of the financial resources available to the International Monetary Fund, and with a view to supporting the Fund's ability to provide timely and effective balance of payments assistance to its members, the Slovak Republic agrees to lend to the Fund an SDR-denominated amount up to the equivalent of EUR 440 million, on the terms and conditions set in this policy paper.
February 4, 2010
Exiting from Crisis Intervention Policies
Description:
This paper identifies broad principles for exiting from extraordinary and unprecedented crisis-related intervention policies implemented by countries across the globe following the onset of the crisis in the summer of 2007. It responds to the requests of the IMFC and the Board to make Fund advice and views on exiting from crisis-related intervention measures more concrete. Drawing on previous and ongoing work by staff, it mostly focuses on medium and large advanced and emerging market economies, in which interventions have been more substantial.
See also background papers:
Strategies for Fiscal Consolidation in the Post-Crisis World
Exiting from Monetary Crisis Intervention Measures—Background Paper
The Role of Indicators in Guiding the Exit from Monetary and Financial Crisis Intervention Measures—Background Paper
January 27, 2010
Borrowing Agreement with the Oesterreichische Nationalbank
Description: In light of the multilateral effort to ensure the adequacy of the financial resources available to the International Monetary Fund (the “Fund”), and with a view to supporting the Fund’s ability to provide timely and effective balance of payments assistance to its members, the Oesterreichische Nationalbank (“OeNB”) agrees to lend to the Fund an SDR-denominated amount up to the equivalent of EUR 2.18 billion, on the terms and conditions set out in this paper.
January 25, 2010
Staff Guidance Note on the Application of the Joint Fund-Bank Debt Sustainability Framework for Low-Income Countries
Description: The objective of the joint Bank-Fund debt sustainability framework for low-income countries is to support LICs in their efforts to achieve their development goals without creating future debt problems. Countries that have received debt relief under the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) Initiative and the Multilateral Debt Relief Initiative (MDRI) need to be kept on a sustainable track. Under the framework, country DSAs are prepared jointly by Bank and Fund staff, with close collaboration between the two staffs on the design of the macroeconomic baseline, alternative scenarios, the debt distress rating, and the drafting of the write-up.
January 25, 2010
Operational Guidance Note on Conditionality—December 2009 Revisions
Description:
The 2000-02 comprehensive review of the Fund’s conditionality culminated in the adoption of a set of conditionality guidelines by the Executive Board on September 25, 2002.
The 2002 Conditionality Guidelines (the “guidelines”) replace the 1979 Conditionality Guidelines and the Interim Guidance Note on Streamlining Structural Conditionality of September 18, 2000. A review of experience with the guidelines, looking at how they have been implemented and at their impact, is conducted periodically; summary statistics on conditionality have been prepared annually since 2008.
January 22, 2010
The Fund’s Mandate - An Overview
Description: This paper, and a companion piece on legal aspects “The Fund’s Mandate—The Legal Framework,” is the first in a series of reflections on the Fund’s mandate—on what it should be doing to promote global stability and how the membership might support that process. At this stage, the aim is not to put forward concrete proposals but to float ideas with a view to stimulating a broader debate. Follow up papers, based on feedback from the Executive Board and public outreach, are planned ahead of the final report to the IMFC in September.