Policy Papers
2020
April 17, 2020
Tonga—IMF Assessment Letter for the World Bank
Description: This letter provides IMF staff’s current assessment of Tonga’s macroeconomic conditions, prospects, and policies. The assessment has been requested in relation to the World Bank’s Resilience Development Policy Operation.
April 15, 2020
The Managing Director’s Global Policy Agenda, Spring Meetings 2020: Exceptional Times Exceptional Action
Description: Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva’s Global Policy Agenda, Exceptional Times, Exceptional Action, highlights three priorities for policymakers around the world: protect lives, protect livelihoods, and plan for the recovery. She Says “The reality is that anyone’s fight against the #COVID-19 virus is everyone’s fight. More than ever we need global solidarity, a common resolve, and coordinated international efforts. And with so many countries short on resources, we need to give more support to those most in need,”.
April 15, 2020
Progress Report to The IMFC On the Activities Of The Independent Evaluation Office Of The IMF
Description: Like everyone else, the IEO is now adapting to new realities in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic. During the five months after the 2019 Annual Meetings, the IEO completed two reports, continued work on two ongoing evaluations, and launched one new evaluation. The IMF also made good progress in following up on past IEO evaluations, including completion of a triage exercise aimed at dealing with the backlog of off-track actions. Unfortunately, IEO work plans are now being affected by the current crisis, as the Fund’s work is necessarily dominated by the challenge of meeting members’ urgent needs. Planned IEO engagement with the Board has been delayed and the schedule for ongoing and new evaluations has to be extended. Nevertheless, the IEO will continue to advance its work program as best it can within the new constraints.
April 15, 2020
Catastrophe Containment And Relief Trust—Approval Of Grant Assistance For Debt Service Relief
Description: This paper proposes that the Executive Board determine that the global COVID-19 pandemic constitutes a Qualifying Public Health Disaster (QPHD) under the Catastrophe Containment (CC) Window of the Catastrophe Containment and Relief Trust (CCRT), in line with the new QPHD test approved by the Board on March 26. The CCRT has sufficient financial resources for an initial tranche of grant assistance for debt service relief covering eligible debt falling due from all CCRT-eligible members through October 13, 2020. Fundraising efforts continue to secure the financial resources needed to commit future such tranches for CCRT debt service relief, up to a cap of two years. Staff considers that the 25 members requesting CCRT assistance qualify for immediate CCRT relief.
April 9, 2020
Enhancing the Emergency Financing Toolkit—Responding To The COVID-19 Pandemic
Description: The COVID-19 pandemic is taking a human toll and has unleashed a series of shocks on the Fund’s entire membership, creating severe disruption in the global economic and financial system. As a result, many emerging market and developing country (EMDC) members face urgent and unprecedented financing needs, creating significant immediate demand for Fund resources. In order to respond to members’ large and urgent financing needs, the paper proposes to enhance the Fund’s emergency financing toolkit, through a temporary increase in access limits for both the Rapid Financing Instrument (RFI), available to all members, and the Rapid Credit Facility (RCF), available to Poverty Reduction Growth Trust-eligible members only. It is proposed to increase these access limits for a proposed period of six months, which may be extended by the Executive Board. A companion Board paper sets out proposals to accelerate Board consideration of member requests for financing under the RCF and RFI, completion of reviews and requests for changes in access in existing arrangements, and requests for grant assistance under the Catastrophe Containment and Relief Trust.
April 9, 2020
Streamlining Procedures for Board Consideration of The Fund’s Emergency Financing During Exceptional Circumstances Involving A Pandemic
Description: The COVID-19 pandemic has inflicted an unprecedented shock on the global economy and created an enormous demand for Fund resources. To accelerate processing and approval of members’ requests in such circumstances, the paper proposes measures to expedite Board consideration and approval of requests for purchases and/or disbursements under the Rapid Financing Instrument and/or the Rapid Credit Facility, respectively, completion of reviews and requests for changes in access in existing arrangements, and requests for assistance under the Catastrophe Containment and Relief Trust (CCRT), by shortening the circulation period for Board documents. The paper also proposes extending the use of the shortened circulation period to selected Article IV consultations necessary for use of Fund resources during a global pandemic. Management will also streamline internal procedures to accelerate program processing and reduce the burden on the Fund’s administrative capacity, and will seek the support of creditors to expedite the processing of financial transactions under COVID-19 emergency financing.
April 2, 2020
Catastrophe Containment and Relief Trust: Policy Proposals and Funding Strategy
Description: In direct response to the COVID-19 crisis the International Monetary Fund (IMF) Executive Board has adopted some immediate enhancements to its Catastrophe Containment and Relief Trust (CCRT) to enable the Fund to provide debt service relief for its poorest and most vulnerable members. The CCRT enables the IMF to deliver grants for debt relief benefiting eligible low-income countries in the wake of catastrophic natural disasters and major, fast-spreading public health emergencies.
March 16, 2020
Eligibility to Use the Fund's Facilities for Concessional Financing, 2020
Description: This paper concludes that the existing framework remains broadly appropriate, but proposes methodological refinements to improve the assessment of market access, clarifies how serious short-term vulnerabilities are assessed, and proposes a modest extension of the transition period before graduation decisions become effective.
March 16, 2020
Policy Steps to Address the Corona Crisis
Description: Monitoring, containing and mitigating the effects of the corona virus are top priorities. Timely and decisive actions by health authorities, central banks, fiscal, regulatory and supervisory authorities can help contain the virus outbreak and offset the economic impact of the pandemic. Central banks must support demand and confidence by preventing a tightening of financial conditions, lowering borrowing costs for households and firms, and ensuring market liquidity. Fiscal policy must step up to provide sizable support to the most affected people and firms, including in hard-to-reach informal sectors. Regulatory and supervisory responses must aim to preserve financial stability and banking system soundness while sustaining economic activity.
March 4, 2020
Framework To Address Open Management Actions In Response To Board-Endorsed IEO Recommendations
Description: Based on recommendations endorsed by the Evaluation Committee of the Board (EVC), this paper proposes a framework to implement the recommendation of the Third External Evaluation of the IEO to address the backlog of open management actions included in the Management Implementation Plans (MIPs) in response to Board-endorsed IEO recommendations.