Extended Fund Facility

I.

• (i) The Executive Directors have been considering the establishment of an extended facility for members that would enable the Fund to give medium-term assistance in the special circumstances of balance of payments difficulty that are indicated in this decision. The facility, in its formulation and administration, is likely to be beneficial for developing countries in particular.

• (ii) The Executive Directors have noted the studies prepared by the staff, including SM/74/58 (“Extended Fund Facility,” March 8, 1974), and especially paragraphs 12 to 16 of that memorandum, in which certain situations to which an extended facility could apply, are described as follows:

  • (a) an economy suffering serious payments imbalance relating to structural maladjustments in production and trade and where prices and cost distortions have been widespread;

  • (b) an economy characterized by slow growth and an inherently weak balance of payments position which prevents pursuit of an active development policy.

• (iii) The Executive Directors have noted the support for an extended facility by the Committee of the Board of Governors on the Reform of the International Monetary System and Related Issues.

• (iv) Taking into account the considerations set forth above, and in particular the exceptional problems faced by some members, the Executive Directors have decided to establish a facility in accordance with the terms set forth in Section II of this decision for the purpose of giving such members medium-term assistance, consistently with Article I(v) and the other purposes of the Fund, under extended arrangements.

II.

• 1. The Fund will be prepared to give special assistance to members to meet balance of payments deficits for longer periods and in amounts larger in relation to quotas than has been the practice under existing tranche policies. Such assistance will be given in the form of extended arrangements in support of comprehensive programs that include policies of the scope and character required to correct structural imbalances in production, trade, and prices when it is expected that the needed improvement in the member’s balance of payments can be achieved without policies inconsistent with the purposes of the Fund only over an extended period. The Fund will pay particular attention to the policy measures that the member intends to implement in order to mobilize resources and improve the utilization of them and to reduce reliance on external restrictions, the time required for these measures to have the intended effect on the balance of payments, and such other factors as the Fund considers relevant to the member’s circumstances.

• 2. A member that contemplates making a request for an extended arrangement should consult the Managing Director before making a request under this decision. A request by a member for an extended arrangement in order to deal with a problem of the kind referred to in this decision will be met, subject to paragraphs 3 and 4 below, if the Fund is satisfied that

  • (a) the solution of the member’s balance of payments problem will require a longer period than the period for which the resources of the Fund are available under existing tranche policies, and

  • (b) the member has presented:

    • (i) a program, setting forth the objectives and policies for the whole period of the extended arrangement, and adequate for the solution of the member’s problem; and

    • (ii) a detailed statement of the policies and measures for the first 12 months constituting an initiation of the program referred to in (i) considered substantial in the member’s circumstances, with the understanding that, for each subsequent 12-month period, the member will present to the Fund a detailed statement of the progress made, and the policies and measures as in (ii) that will be followed, to further the realization of the objectives of the program referred to in (i) with such modifications in the member’s policies as might reasonably be considered necessary to assist it to achieve its objectives in changing circumstances.

• 3. Extended arrangements under this decision will be for periods not exceeding four years. It would be expected that extended arrangements would be approved for periods not exceeding three years, although arrangements for up to four years may also be approved, where appropriate, and if the member so requests. Where appropriate, and at the request of the member, the period of an existing extended arrangement of less than four years may be lengthened up to the maximum duration of four years. Each arrangement will prescribe the total amount, and the annual installments within the total, available in accordance with the original or any modified terms of the arrangement. Purchases in respect of each installment will be phased over the period in which it is available and will be subject to suitable performance clauses related to the implementation of those policies that are necessary for achieving the objectives of the program that the member has adopted as the basis for an extended arrangement.

• 4. In order to carry out the purposes of this decision, the Fund will be prepared to grant any waiver of the conditions of Article V, Section 3(b)(iii) when necessary to permit purchases under this decision or to permit purchases under other policies that would raise the Fund’s holdings of a member’s currency above the limits referred to in that provision because of purchases outstanding under this decision.

• 5. A member that has obtained an extended arrangement under this decision will make repurchases corresponding to purchases under the extended arrangement to the extent that such purchases are still outstanding, as soon as its balance of payments problems have been overcome and, in any event, within an outside range of four to ten years after each purchase. Not later than four years after the first purchase under the extended arrangement the member will propose to the Fund a schedule of repurchases for all purchases outstanding under the extended arrangement. Normally, schedules under this paragraph will provide for repurchases in respect of each purchase of 12 equal six-monthly installments.

• 6. When purchases are made under extended arrangements granted pursuant to this decision, the Fund will so indicate in an appropriate manner.

• 7. The Fund will levy charges on holdings of a member’s currency resulting from purchases outstanding under this decision in accordance with the decisions of the Fund.

• 8. Except as otherwise provided in this or in any subsequent related decisions, extended arrangements shall be subject to the Fund’s decisions and policies on stand-by arrangements.

• 9. The Fund will review this decision as needed in the light of experience, including in the context of periodic reviews of other GRA facilities and instruments.

Decision No. 4377-(74/114),

September 13, 1974,

as amended by Decision Nos. 6339-(79/179), December 3, 1979,

6830-(81/65), April 22, 1981, effective May 1, 1981,

8885-(88/89), June 6, 1988,

10182-(92/132), November 3, 1992,

10186-(92/132), November 3, 1992,

12343-(00/117), November 28, 2000,

14287-(09/29), March 24, 2009, effective April 1, 2009, and

15113-(12-24),

March 14, 2012