Policy Papers

October 4, 2022

Statement by the Managing Director on the Independent Evaluation Office Report on The IMF and Capacity Development Executive Board Meeting September 12, 2022

Description: The IEO evaluation contains a wealth of analysis and background material that will be invaluable as staff embarks on the preparation of the 2023 CD Strategy Review. The overall assessment is very positive, highlighting the achievements authorities have made with the help of Fund CD and the value they continue to place on this area of Fund work. The report also acknowledges the significant strides that have been made in improving governance and management of CD in recent years.

August 8, 2022

The Acting Chair’s Summing Up Review of the Fund’s Policy on Multiple Currency Practices—Proposals for Reform Executive Board Meeting July 1, 2022

Description: Executive Directors welcomed the opportunity to complete the review of the Fund’s Policy on Multiple Currency Practices (MCPs). They observed that MCPs can be distortionary, create unfair competitive advantage among countries, and hamper trade and investment, particularly over the medium and long term. They agreed that the MCP policy should remain a cornerstone of the Fund’s legal and policy framework to ensure orderly exchange arrangements and a stable system of exchange rates. They welcomed the adjustments to the policy to reflect developments since the last review in the 1980s so that it does not discourage good practices in FX markets and is better aligned with the Fund’s other policies (including the policy on exchange restrictions and the Institutional View on the Liberalization and Management of Capital Flows (IV)), while ensuring that it continues to address policy actions that are considered impermissible under the new policy.

August 8, 2022

Staff Guidance Note on the Sovereign Risk and Debt Sustainability Framework for Market Access Countries

Description: This note provides operational guidance for the use of the Sovereign Risk and Debt Sustainability Framework (SRDSF), which replaces the Debt Sustainability Framework for Market Access Countries. The SRDSF introduces improvements in organization, methodology, transparency, and communication when analyzing public debt issues in countries that mainly finance themselves with market-based debt. After its phased adoption beginning [June 2022], it will become the Fund’s principal tool for assessing public debt sustainability.

July 29, 2022

Review of the Method of Valuation of the SDR— Amendment to Rule O-1

Description: This paper seeks Executive Board approval of an amendment to Rule O-1 of the IMF’s Rules and Regulations, which specifies the currency amounts in the SDR valuation basket In accordance with Decision No. 17247-(22/44), adopted May 11, 2022, on the method of valuation of the SDR and Decision No. 16033-(16/17), adopted July 20, 2016 on the guidelines for the calculation of currency amounts in the SDR valuation basket, the amounts of each currency included in the SDR valuation basket, effective August 1, 2022, have been determined. These currency amounts are calculated in accordance with long-standing principles of continuity and stability of the SDR value in terms of currencies. The calculations ensure that on the transition day (today), the value of the SDR in U.S. dollars is the same under the new and the prevailing SDR valuation baskets. Moreover, at the average exchange rates for the three-month period ending today (May 2 through July 29, 2022), the share of each currency in the value of the SDR corresponds to the weight approved by the IMF Executive Board on May 11, 2022.

July 28, 2022

IMF Strategy Toward Mainstreaming Gender

Description: On July 22, 2022, the Executive Board of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) approved the IMF’s first Strategy toward Mainstreaming Gender into the IMF’s core activities. Mainstreaming gender at the IMF starts with the recognition that reducing gender disparities goes hand-in-hand with higher economic growth, greater economic stability and resilience, and lower income inequality. At the same time, economic and financial policies can exacerbate or narrow gender disparities. Well-designed macroeconomic, structural, and financial policies can support efficient and inclusive outcomes and equitably benefit women, girls, and the society in general. The strategy lays out how the IMF can help its member countries address gender disparities in the context of carrying out its core functions—surveillance, lending, and capacity development. The strategy comprises four key pillars: first, gender-disaggregated data collection and development of modeling tools to enable staff to conduct policy analysis; second, a robust governance framework for an evenhanded approach across members based on the macro-criticality of gender; third, strengthening collaboration with external partners to benefit from knowledge sharing and peer learning, leverage complementarities, and maximize the impact on the ground; and fourth, the efficient use of resources allocated to gender by putting in place a central unit for realizing scale economies and supporting country teams.

July 15, 2022

Review of the Fund's Policy on Multiple Currency Practices–Proposals for Reform

Description: In February 2019, the Executive Board considered staff’s preliminary proposals for reforming the IMF’s policy on multiple currency practices (MCPs) and supported the majority of the proposals. The Board expressed strong support for re-focusing the policy on official action that segments foreign exchange markets, eliminating the concept of potentiality, and replacing the current fixed two-percent rule for identifying MCPs for spot transactions with a country-specific market-based norm and tolerance margin that would apply uniformly across the membership for both spot and non-spot transactions. The Board also supported staff’s proposals regarding the other elements of the new methodology to identify MCPs, the treatment of illegal parallel markets, excluding broken cross-rates from the scope of the policy, and the linkages with the Institutional View on the Liberalization and Management of Capital Flows. The paper outlines operational considerations to address noncompliance and to ensure a smooth transition. It is proposed to enhance the current cooperative approach to addressing noncompliance by increasing transparency and accountability.

July 13, 2022

Modification to the Transparency Policy

Description: The new Debt Sustainability Framework for Market Access Countries (MAC SRDSF) contemplates certain output that would be shared with the Board but that would need to be deleted from Country Documents before publication. A targeted modification to the Transparency Policy—proposed in this paper—is required for such deletions to be applied across market access Country Documents rather than on a case-by-case basis. The MAC SRDSF output to be deleted before publication consists on: (i) the near-term risk assessment; (ii) when debt is assessed to be sustainable, the qualification ”with high probability” or “but not with high probability”, unless such qualification is required for use of Fund resources; and (iii) the mechanical signal on debt sustainability.

July 11, 2022

Extension Of The Periods For Consent To And Payment Of Quota Increases

Description: On June 15, 2022, the IMF’s Executive Board approved an additional extension, for one year, of the period for members to consent to an increase in their quotas under the Fourteenth General Review of Quotas (“Fourteenth Review”) through June 30, 2023. The previous deadline was due to expire on June 30, 2022. However, the Board of Governors Resolution No. 66-2 provides that the Executive Board may extend the period for consent as it may determine. The Executive Board also approved an additional extension by one year of the period for payment of quota increases under the Fourteenth Review, and an extension for the payment of the quota increases under the 2008 Reform, through June 30, 2023.

June 30, 2022

Review of Institutional Safeguards

Description: Ensuring the integrity of data and analysis is fundamental to the Fund’s ability to deliver on its mandate. As part of the Fund’s institutional safeguards review, a Working Group on Data and Analysis Integrity (WGDAI) was established to assess the possible need for changes in processes safeguarding the integrity of data and analysis at the Fund. The IMF primarily uses data supplied by its membership to fulfil its core mandate. The IMF has initiated and progressively enhanced a number of initiatives to help members prepare official data of adequate quality. Assessing data integrity and supporting countries’ efforts to achieve high standards has required a sustained commitment on the part of the Fund.

Notes: Statement by the IMF Executive Board and Management on the Institutional Safeguards Review

June 30, 2022

Implementation Plan in Response to The Executive Board-Endorsed Categorization of Open Actions in Management Implementation Plans

Description: This management implementation plan (MIP) proposes eight reformulated actions that would benefit from further follow up, in line with the Board-approved Categorization of Open Actions in MIPs. The MIP aims to strengthening the continuity of the relationship between the Fund and member countries, enhancing knowledge sharing across successive country teams, improving incentives for sound data management, alleviating country authorities’ concerns about disclosure, and creating a more robust review process for working papers.