Flexible Credit Line (FCL) Arrangements

1. The Fund decides that resources in the credit tranches may be made available under a Flexible Credit Line (FCL) arrangement, in accordance with the terms and conditions specified in this Decision.

2. An FCL arrangement shall be approved upon request in cases where the Fund assesses that the member (a) has very strong economic fundamentals and institutional policy frameworks, (b) is implementing—and has a sustained track record of implementing—very strong policies, and (c) remains committed to maintaining such policies in the future, all of which give confidence that the member will respond appropriately to the balance of payments difficulties that it is encountering or could encounter. In addition to a very positive assessment of the member’s policies by the Executive Board in the context of the most recent Article IV consultations, the relevant criteria for the purposes of assessing qualification for an FCL arrangement shall include: (i) a sustainable external position; (ii) a capital account position dominated by private flows; (iii) a track record of steady sovereign access to international capital markets at favorable terms; (iv) a reserve position that is relatively comfortable when the FCL is requested on a precautionary basis; (v) sound public finances, including a sustainable public debt position; (vi) low and stable inflation, in the context of a sound monetary and exchange rate policy framework; (vii) [a] sound financial system and the absence of solvency problems that may threaten systemic stability, or, for arrangements approved before May 21, 2014, the absence of bank solvency problems that pose an immediate threat of a systemic banking crisis; (viii) effective financial sector supervision; and (ix) data transparency and integrity.

3. In light of the qualification criteria set out in paragraph 2 of this Decision, and except for the review requirement specified in paragraph 5 of this Decision, FCL arrangements shall not be subject to performance criteria or other forms of ex-post program monitoring.

4. There shall be no phasing under FCL arrangements and, accordingly, the entire amount of approved access will be available to the member upon approval of an FCL arrangement. A member may make one or more purchases up to the amount of approved access at any time during the period of the FCL arrangement, subject to the provisions of this Decision. The Fund shall not challenge a representation of need by a member for a purchase requested under an FCL arrangement.

5. (a) The Fund may approve a member’s request for an FCL arrangement of either one year or two years duration. For FCL arrangements with a two-year duration, no purchase shall be made after one year has elapsed from the date of the approval of the FCL arrangement until an Executive Board review of the member’s policies has been completed. Such a review will assess the member’s continued adherence to the qualification criteria specified in paragraph 2 of this Decision, and would be scheduled with the objective of completion by the Executive Board immediately prior to the lapse of the one-year period referred to above.

(b) An FCL arrangement will expire upon the earlier of: (i) the expiration of the approved term of the arrangement; (ii) the purchase by a member of the entire amount of approved access under the FCL arrangement; or (iii) the cancellation of the FCL arrangement by the member. Upon expiration of an FCL arrangement, the Fund may approve additional FCL arrangements for the member in accordance with the terms of this Decision.

6. (a) The following procedures and arrangements for consultations with the Executive Board will apply following a member’s expression of interest in an FCL arrangement:

• (i) Staff will conduct a confidential preliminary assessment of the qualification criteria set forth in paragraph 2.

• (ii) Where support from other creditors is likely to be important in helping a member address its balance of payments difficulties, staff will consult with key creditors as appropriate.

• (iii) Once management decides that access to Fund resources under this Decision may be appropriate, it will consult with the Executive Board promptly in an informal meeting. For this purpose, Executive Directors will be provided with a concise staff note setting out the basis on which approval could be recommended under this Decision, including (I) a rigorous assessment of the member’s actual or potential need for Fund resources and repayment capacity, and (II) an assessment of the impact of the arrangement on Fund liquidity in cases where it is contemplated that access would exceed 575 percent of quota or SDR 10 billion, whichever is lower.

• (iv) When the Managing Director is prepared to recommend approval of an FCL arrangement, the relevant documents, including (I) a written communication from the member requesting an FCL arrangement and outlining its policy goals and strategies for at least the duration of the arrangement as well as its commitment, whenever relevant, to take adequate corrective measures to deal with shocks that have arisen or that may arise, and (II) a staff report that assesses the member’s qualification for financial assistance under the terms of this Decision, will be circulated to the Board. An assessment of the impact of the proposed FCL arrangement on the Fund’s finances and liquidity position will be included in the staff report.

• (v) The minimum periods applicable to the circulation of staff reports to the Executive Board shall apply to requests under this Decision, provided that the Executive Board will generally be prepared to consider a request within 48 to 72 hours after the circulation of the documentation in exceptional circumstances, such as an urgent actual balance of payments need.

(b) A member requesting an FCL arrangement would not be subject to the Fund’s policy on safeguards assessments for Fund arrangements. However, at the time of making a formal written request for an FCL arrangement, such a member requesting an FCL arrangement will provide authorization for Fund staff to have access to the most recently completed annual independent audit of its central bank’s financial statements, whether or not the audit is published. This will include authorizing its central bank authorities and the central bank’s external auditors to discuss the audit findings with Fund staff, including any written observations by the external auditors regarding weaknesses observed in internal controls. The member will be expected to act in a cooperative manner during such discussions with the staff. For as long as Fund credit is outstanding under this Decision, the member will also provide staff with copies of annual audited financial statements and management letters, together with an authorization to discuss audit findings with the external auditor.

7. The Emergency Financing Mechanism (EFM) procedures set forth in BUFF/95/102, 9/21/1995 shall not apply to requests for FCL arrangements.

8. In order to carry out the purposes of this Decision, the Fund will be prepared to grant a waiver of the limitation of 200 percent of quota in Article V, Section 3(b)(iii), whenever necessary to permit purchases under this Decision or to permit other purchases that would raise the Fund’s holdings of the purchasing member’s currency above that limitation because of purchases outstanding under this Decision.

9. Paragraph 1 of Decision No. 12865-(02/102), adopted September 25, 2002, shall be deleted, and Paragraph 2, 3 and 4 of the Decision shall be renumbered as Paragraph 1, 2 and 3, respectively.

10. [Deleted]¹

Decision No. 14283-(09/29),

March 24, 2009.

as amended by Decision Nos. 14714-(10/83), August 30, 2010,

15593-(14/46), May 21, 2014, and

16286-(17/98),

December 6, 2017

¹ Ed. Note: Paragraph 10 was deleted by Decision No. 14714-(10/83), August 20, 2010.