Policy Papers
2007
October 19, 2007
Report of the Managing Director to the International Monetary and Financial Committee on the IMF's Policy Agenda
Description: This report reviews the work of the Fund since the 2007 Spring Meetings and the priorities for the period ahead. Progress has been made in the past few months with respect to the framework for surveillance and its implementation, quota and voice, and the Fund’s income model. Other key aspects of the MTS have also advanced, including with regard to Bank-Fund collaboration and the Fund’s role in low-income countries. Future work will focus on completion of the quota and voice reform, reaching agreement on the Fund’s new income model, and delivering budgetary restraint, as well as addressing the evolving challenges facing the Fund and the world economy, notably the financial market turbulence and financial globalization. The paper reports on recent developments in the global economy (Section II) and progress in the following key areas: reshaping surveillance (Section III); emerging market economies and crisis prevention (Section IV); the role of the Fund in low-income countries (Section V); quota and voice issues (Section VI), building institutions and capacity (Section VII); and managing an effective institution (Section VIII).
October 18, 2007
Financial Soundness Indicators-Experience with the Coordinated Compilation Exercise and Next Steps
Description: Overview. This paper reports on the experience with the work program on Financial Soundness Indicators (FSIs) and offers proposals for taking forward the work on FSIs. The work program aimed at (i) increasing member countries’ FSI compilation capacity and supporting their compilation efforts; (ii) expanding reporting and analysis of FSIs in the work of the Fund; and (iii) undertaking further analytical work on FSIs. In this context, a Coordinated Compilation Exercise (CCE) for FSIs was conducted, and experience was gained with the use of FSIs in Article IV surveillance, the Financial Sector Assessment Program (FSAP), and the interdepartmental Vulnerability Exercise (VE). The paper proposes that the Fund aintains an ongoing role in collecting and disseminating FSIs.
October 18, 2007
Financial Soundness Indicators-Experience with the Coordinated Compilation Exercise and Next Steps-Background Paper
Description: This is the companion background paper to the staff report on Financial Soundness Indicators (FSIs): Experience with the Coordinated Compilation Exercise and Next Steps. It provides detailed information on the modalities of the Coordinated Compilation Exercise (CCE), the experience with the CCE, the issues that arose in that exercise regarding the compilation methodology in the Financial Soundness Indicators: Compilation Guide (Guide), and the matters that were taken into account in considering the specific amendments to the Guide, presented in the staff report.
October 16, 2007
Report of the Executive Board to the Board of Governors - Quota and Voice Reform - Progress Since the 2006 Annual Meetings
Description: At the Annual Meetings in Singapore, the Board of Governors approved a program of quota and voice reforms (Resolution 61-5) that aims to enhance the effectiveness and credibility of the Fund. This report responds to that request and reflects the extensive discussions by the Executive Board over the past year on the reform agenda agreed in Singapore.
October 15, 2007
Provisional Agenda for the Sixteenth Meeting of the International Monetary and Financial Committee
Description: The following is the provisional agenda for the Sixteenth Meeting of the International Monetary and Financial Committee, which is to be convened on Saturday, October 20, 2007, at the Fund's Headquarters in Washington, D.C.
October 15, 2007
Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) Initiative and Multilateral Debt Relief Initiative (MDRI) - Status of Implementation
Description: This report provides an update on the status of implementation, impact and costs of the enhanced Heavily Indebted Poor Country (HIPC) Initiative and the Multilateral Debt Relief Initiative (MDRI) since mid-2006. It also discusses the status of creditor participation in both initiatives and the issue of litigation of commercial creditors against HIPCs.
October 11, 2007
Safeguards Assessments - 2007 Update
Description: This paper provides Executive Directors with an update of safeguards assessment activities from July 1, 2006 through June 30, 2007. This is the second annual update report of safeguards activities since the last review of the safeguards policy in April 2005. The next review of the policy by the Executive Board is scheduled for 2008.
October 2, 2007
Progress Report on the Activities of the Independent Evaluation Office
Description: Since its April 2007 Report to the IMFC, the IEO has released its report on The IMF’s Advice on Exchange Rate Policy, continued work on three other evaluations, and issued its Annual Report for 2006–07.
September 21, 2007
The Role of the Fund in the Poverty Reduction Strategy Process and Its Collaboration with Donors
Description: This paper proposes an approach to making the MTS operational as it relates to the Fund’s work in LICs that would define more precisely the Fund’s responsibility and accountability in the PRSP and donor collaboration processes. The proposed activities are not “new,” but represent an intensification of existing work and its extension to the all LICs as appropriate. This would help clarify expectations as to the Fund’s role, and establish a consistent institutional approach to collaborating with donors and other stakeholders on the ground.
September 20, 2007
Enhancing Collaboration - Joint Management Action Plan
Description: In March 2006, the Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the President of the World Bank commissioned the External Review Committee on IMF-World Bank Collaboration to look at the status of institutional collaboration and provide suggestions for improvement. The Committee’s report, released in February 2007, called for the strengthening of the culture of collaboration in the two institutions, and made a number of specific proposals in that direction. The Joint Management Action Plan (JMAP) was prepared against this background, and the actions agreed between Bank and Fund managements in the JMAP are scheduled to be presented in informal Board meetings in early October. The JMAP will be launched immediately after the Annual Meetings. The goal is for most new systems to be operational in time for the preparation of FY09 budgets.