Policy Papers
2009
September 16, 2009
Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) Initiative and Multilateral Debt Relief Initiative (MDRI) - Status of Implementation 2009
Description:
This paper updates the status of implementation, impact, and costs of the Enhanced Heavily Indebted Poor Country (HIPC) Initiative and the Multilateral Debt Relief Initiative (MDRI).
Debt relief provided under the Initiatives has substantially alleviated debt burdens in recipient countries. Aided by continued flexibility on the part of IDA and the Fund, substantial progress has been achieved under the Initiatives since the last report, and a number of post-decision-point countries have already benefited from debt relief.
September 14, 2009
Review of Recent Crisis Programs
Description: This study concludes that recent Fund-supported programs in emerging market countries are delivering the kind of policy response and financing needed to cushion the blow from the worst global crisis since the 1930s. While the crisis has had a profound effect on output and employment, especially in those countries starting with large external vulnerabilities, many of the severe disruptions attending previous crises—currency overshooting and bank runs—have so far been avoided. Internalizing lessons from the past, programs have responded to country conditions and adapted to worsening economic circumstances to attenuate contractionary forces. As a result, signs of stabilization are emerging in program countries, though there remain challenges to secure sustained recovery in a number of countries.
September 9, 2009
Creating Policy Space - Responsive Design and Streamlined Conditionality in Recent Low-Income Country Programs
Description: An analysis of recent programs in low-income countries, covering countries with continuous program engagement with the IMF throughout the period 2007-09, shows that program design has been adapted to provide expanded policy space in response to the food and fuel price shocks of 2007-08 and to the global financial crisis that followed. The analysis also finds that structural conditionality in Fund-supported programs in low-income countries has become more streamlined, with a dominant focus on public sector resource management and accountability.
September 2, 2009
Note Purchase Agreement Between the People's Bank of China and the International Monetary Fund
Description: In light of the international effort to ensure the adequacy of the financial resources available to the Fund, and with a view to supporting the Fund’s ability to provide timely and effective balance of payments assistance, particularly to developing and emerging market countries affected by the global financial crisis, the PBC agrees to purchase from the Fund promissory notes.
September 2, 2009
Borrowing Agreement Between Deutsche Bundesbank and the International Monetary Fund
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, Deutsche Bundesbank agrees to lend to the Fund an SDR-denominated amount up to the equivalent of EUR 15 billion.
September 2, 2009
Statement of Surveillance Priorities-Revisions of Economic Priorities and Progress on Operational Priorities
Description: This paper recommends changes to the economic priorities of the Statement of Surveillance Priorities (SSP) and provides an update on actions taken towards implementing the operational priorities.
September 1, 2009
Borrowing Agreement with the Government of the United Kingdom
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 Government of the United Kingdom, acting through Her Majesty's Treasury, agrees to lend to the Fund up to the equivalent of SDR 9.92 billion.
August 28, 2009
Financial Sector Assessment Program After Ten Years-Experience and Reforms for the Next Decade
Description:
Ten years after its inception, the FSAP has established itself as an important instrument for assessing financial systems around the world. More than three-quarters of the membership have volunteered for FSAP assessments or agreed to do so in the near future, including almost all the G20 countries. Previous reviews have confirmed that the FSAP has helped deepen the understanding of countries’ financial sectors and linkages with the rest of the economy, enriched the policy dialogue, and ensured consistency of Bank and the Fund advice, the last being a feature highly valued by participating countries. As also noted in the Malan Report, the collaborative nature of the FSAP adds value by effectively addressing areas of financial sector policy where developmental and stability concerns are interlinked and overlap and by facilitating knowledge spillovers between the two institutions. These past reviews have noted, however, the need to make the FSAP more flexible, responsive, and continuous, to deepen and strengthen the analytical toolkit, and to integrate the FSAP more closely with the Bank’s and the Fund’s other financial sector work.
The Financial Sector Assessment Program After Ten Years: Background Material
August 28, 2009
Financial Sector and Bilateral Surveillance - Toward Further Integration
Description: The Fund has continued to make great efforts to enhance financial sector focus and analytics in bilateral surveillance. The main initiatives include enhancing collaboration with other multilateral institutions, improving analytical tools and methodologies, and a major strengthening of the financial sector capabilities in area departments. The fruits of these efforts are already visible in the better treatment of financial sector issues in Article IV reports
August 28, 2009
Revised Approach to Financial Regulation and Supervision Standards Assessments in FSAP Updates
Description: The Financial Sector Assessment Program (FSAP) is a central instrument for the Fund and Bank to promote financial sector soundness in member countries. The FSAP uses quantitative analysis and qualitative tools to help identify the risks and vulnerabilities of a country’s financial system, ascertain the sector’s developmental needs, and prioritize policy responses. Detailed assessments of the observance of relevant financial sector standards and codes, and the associated Reports on Observance of Standards and Codes (ROSCs) have been an important component of the FSAP.