Press Release No. 14/22

Press Release: IMF Executive Board Reports to the Board of Governors on the 2010 Reforms and the Fifteenth General Review of Quotas

January 23, 2014

The Executive Board of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) adopted on January 22, 2014, a report to the Board of Governors—the IMF’s highest decision-making body —on the 2010 Reforms and the Fifteenth General Review of Quotas. 

In December 2010 when completing the Fourteenth General Review of Quotas and approving the Proposed Amendment on the Reform of the Executive Board, the Board of Governors requested the Executive Board to bring forward the timetable for completion of the Fifteenth General Review of Quotas to January 2014 (see Press Release No. 10/418).¹ The Executive Board was also requested to complete a comprehensive quota formula review by January 2013. These forward-looking elements were part of an agreed package of 2010 quota and governance reforms.

The Board Reform Amendment has not yet entered into force. As of mid-January 2014, 141 members (requirement: 113) representing 76.1 percent of quota (requirement: 85 percent) have agreed to the Board Reform Amendment.² The initiation of the work on the Fifteenth Review has been put on hold to facilitate the achievement of the required acceptance threshold for the entry into force of the Board Reform Amendment, which is one of the general conditions for effectiveness of the quota increases under the Fourteenth General Review of Quotas.

In its report, the Executive Board deeply regrets the delay in implementing the Fourteenth Review quota increases and the Board Reform Amendment and that, as a result, it has not been able to complete its work in connection with the Fifteenth Review by the January 2014 deadline requested by the Board of Governors. Given the delay, the Executive Board has concluded that “additional time will be needed to complete its work on the Fifteenth Review.

The Executive Board reiterates the importance and urgency of the 2010 Reforms for strengthening the Fund’s effectiveness and legitimacy. This includes ensuring that, as a quota-based institution, the Fund has sufficient permanent resources to meet members’ needs and that its governance structure evolves in line with members’ changing positions in the world economy.

The Executive Board proposes that the deadline for the completion of the Fifteenth Review be moved from January 2014 to January 2015. Furthermore, the Executive Board recognizes that the immediate priority is the effectiveness of the Fourteenth Review and Board Reform Amendment. Accordingly, the Executive Board proposes that the Board of Governors adopt a Resolution expressing its deep regret that the Fourteenth Review and the Board Reform Amendment have not become effective and urge the remaining members who have not yet accepted the Fourteenth Review quota increases and the Board Reform Amendment to do so without further delay.

Finally, in view of the importance of making the Fourteenth Review quota increases and the Board Reform Amendment effective without further delay, the Executive Board proposes that, as the next step, the Board of Governors request the Chairman of the International Monetary and Financial Committee (IMFC) to consult with the membership and to advise the IMFC at its 2014 Spring Meeting on progress in making the Fourteenth Review and the Board Reform Amendment effective, and the available options for completing the current round of the quota reform process, with the objective of completing the Fifteenth Review by January 2015.

¹ Board of Governors Resolution No. 66-2 on the Fourteenth General Review of Quotas and Reform of the Executive Board, adopted December 15, 2010. The deadline for completing the Fifteenth Review mandated under the Articles of Agreement is December 15, 2015 (Article III, Section 2(a) requires the Board of Governors to conduct a general review at intervals of not more than five years).

² Forty-seven members have not yet accepted the Board Reform Amendment. Acceptance by the United States is needed to reach the required acceptance threshold for the Board Reform Amendment.