Press Release No. 06/27

Press Release: IMF Publishes First Annual Report on Fund-Related Transparency

February 7, 2006

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) today released the first annual report on key trends in the implementation of the IMF's transparency policy. Consistent with the IMF's continued effort for greater transparency, the annual reports will document the state of publication of a wide range of staff reports, country policy intention documents, and IMF policy papers.

In its 2005 review of the Fund's transparency policy (see Public Information Notice No. 05/116), the Executive Board requested regular updates of information on transparency at the Fund, including publication rates regarding staff reports on bilateral surveillance and Fund-supported economic programs.

The reports cover publication rates, trends in publication lags and recourse to deletions, and the publication behavior of members. In 2003, the Executive Board endorsed the move to a policy of voluntary but presumed publication for most country reports, in particular all staff reports on bilateral surveillance and the use of Fund resources (UFR), and of presumed publication of most policy papers.

This first annual report shows that the publication rate of staff reports covering Article IV consultations and UFR matters, which were discussed by the Executive Board between November 2004 and October 2005, reached 82 percent, up from 78 percent a year earlier. Moreover, 93 percent of all country documents outlining economic programs and 71 percent of all policy papers discussed by the Board in the same period, were published.