Policy Papers
2020
September 30, 2020
The Chair’s Summing Up Independent Evaluation Office - IMF advice on Capital Flows Executive Board Meeting 20/93 September 18, 2020
Description: Executive Directors welcomed the report of the Independent Evaluation Office (IEO) on IMF Advice on Capital Flows. Directors appreciated the high quality of the report, and its thematic and background country studies. Directors welcomed the finding that the adoption of the Institutional View (IV), along with the development of other frameworks and additional tools, had represented a major advance in the Fund’s policy framework to provide systematic advice to member countries on the management of capital flows and capital account liberalization. Directors also noted the conclusion that, in its application, the Fund had generally followed the IV and other policy frameworks to ensure that the advice was consistent, tailored to country circumstances, and evenhanded across countries. Directors welcomed that capital flow management measures (CFMs) have generally not been used to substitute for warranted policy adjustments. Directors also welcomed the finding that most authorities broadly support the IV’s sequenced framework to capital account liberalization and appreciated the Fund’s specific advice in many cases, especially in the context of technical assistance. More recently, faced with the abrupt capital flow reversals during the COVID-19 crisis, Directors noted that emerging markets and developing economies generally followed a multi-pronged approach broadly consistent with the IV framework and made relatively little use of CFMs.
September 24, 2020
Updated Common Evaluation Framework For IMF Capacity Development And Guidance Note
Description: This document updates the Common Evaluation Framework (CEF) for the Fund’s capacity development (CD) activities and provides practical guidance on its implementation. Since its adoption, the Fund has made progress in implementing the CEF. However, areas for improvement remain. The document aims to address these areas, drawing on lessons from experience with evaluations since the CEF’s adoption.
September 18, 2020
Policy Safeguards For Countries Seeking Access To Fund Financial Support That Would Lead To High Levels Of Combined GRA-PRGT Exposure
Description: This paper proposes safeguards broadly aligned with the GRA exceptional access policy that will apply in cases where combined GRA and PRGT credit exposure exceeds the GRA thresholds. The new safeguards would help to mitigate financial risks to the PRGT and the GRA, respectively, that arise from a member having high levels of combined credit from these two sources of funding. The proposed policy builds on the current policies on safeguards to Fund resources (both the Fund’s resources in the GRA and under the PRGT as Trustee, respectively).
July 30, 2020
Policy Papers: The Central Bank Transparency Code
Description: The paper reports to the Executive Board on its decision of April 29, 2019, to prepare an IMF Central Bank Transparency Code (CBT), which is linked to the 2017 Review of the Standards and Codes Initiative (RSCI), for a revision and update of the 1999 Monetary and Financial Policies Transparency Code (MFPT). Directors asked that the CBT should remove the overlap on financial policies covered by other international standards, expand the transparency standards to broader set of activities undertaken by many central banks since the 2008 financial crisis, and reorient the transparency standards to facilitate risk-based assessments to support policy effectiveness and address macroeconomic risks.
July 24, 2020
Review Of The Fund’s Income Position For FY 2020 And FY 2021-2022
Description: This paper reviews the Fund’s income position for FY 2020 and FY 2021–22. It updates the April 2019 projections and proposes decisions for the current year. The paper also includes a proposed decision to set the margin for the rate of charge for financial years 2021 and 2022. Projections of the Fund’s income are subject to larger than normal uncertainties related to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on key assumptions. For FY 2020, these uncertainties relate mainly to the discount rate used to measure the Fund’s retirement plan obligations at April 30, 2020 and to the full year asset returns on the retirement plan and the Endowment Subaccount (EA), given the recent volatility in financial markets. For FY 2021–22, a key additional uncertainty is the scale of new lending associated with the economic fallout from the COVID-19 pandemic.
July 22, 2020
Temporary Modification to the Fund's Annual Access Limits
Description: The COVID-19 pandemic has caused a uniquely severe synchronized shock across the global economy, in turn leading numerous member countries to request substantial financial assistance from the Fund. The Executive Board responded to members’ needs by increasing the access limits under the Fund’s emergency financing instruments by 50 percent of quota for a period of 6 months (until October 5, 2020), subject to a possible extension by the Executive Board.
July 17, 2020
Further Extension of Consultation Cycles Due To Covid-19 Pandemic, and Suspension of Framework To Address Excessive Delays in Article IV Consultations and Mandatory Financial Stability Assessments
Description: Notwithstanding the ongoing intensive policy dialogue with the membership during the COVID-19 pandemic, there is growing need for resuming Article IV consultations and mandatory Financial Stability Assessments (FSAs). However, the resumption of Article IV consultations over the coming months will need to be gradual, remain focused on the crisis and related challenges, and be undertaken flexibly. Staff recommends a further extension of consultation cycles to accommodate the gradual nature of the restart. Staff also recommends that the application of the framework to address excessive delays in the completion of Article IV consultations and mandatory FSAs be temporarily suspended.
July 17, 2020
Extension of the Periods For Consent to and Payment of Quota Increases
Description: On June 18, 2020, 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, 2021. The current deadline was due to expire on June 30, 2020. However, the Board of Governors Resolution No. 66-2 provides that the Executive Board may extend the period for consent as it may determine. An extension under Resolution No. 66-2 also extends the periods of consent for quota increases under the 2008 Reform of Quota and Voice (Resolution No. 63-2) and the Eleventh General Review of Quotas (Resolution No. 53-2). 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, 2021.
July 15, 2020
Progress In Implementing The Framework For Enhanced Fund Engagement On Governance
Description: This paper provides an interim update on implementation of the 2018 Framework for Enhanced Fund Engagement on Governance. This update is in advance of a comprehensive formal review of the Framework scheduled for mid-2021.
July 9, 2020
Statement by The Managing Director on the Work Program of The Executive Board: June 11, 2020
Description: The COVID 19 crisis continues to take a heavy human and economic toll. The outlook remains highly uncertain as many countries are facing the economic fallout of the pandemic. This has led to an unprecedented surge in demand for Fund support and a strain on staff resources. Against this backdrop, and in line with the strategic priorities laid out in the Spring 2020 Global Policy Agenda and the International Monetary and Financial Committee Communiqué, this crisis focused Work Program (WP) lays out essential work during May to October aimed at helping countries to mitigate the crisis, restore stability, and prepare for a strong and sustainable recovery. The WP implies a large increase in Board items compared with last year, reflecting mostly informal and more frequent updates on how this rapidly evolving crisis affects economic and financial developments and relevant policies. Other work streams are delayed; they are outlined in the WP and will be included in the Board agenda once there is more clarity on how the evolution of the pandemic will impact crisis related work.