Press Release No. 15/513

Press Release: Statement by Ms. Christine Lagarde on IMF Review of SDR Basket of Currencies

November 13, 2015

Ms. Christine Lagarde, Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) issued the following statement today:

"The staff of the IMF has today issued a paper to the Executive Board on the quinquennial review of the SDR. A key focus of the Board review is whether the Chinese renminbi (RMB), which continues to meet the export criterion for inclusion in the SDR basket, also meets the other existing criterion, that the currency be “freely usable”, which is defined as being “widely used” for international transactions and “widely traded” in the principal foreign exchange markets.

"In the paper, IMF staff assesses that the RMB meets the requirements to be a “freely usable” currency and, accordingly, the staff proposes that the Executive Board determine the RMB to be freely usable and include it in the SDR basket as a fifth currency, along with the British pound, euro, Japanese yen, and the U.S. dollar. The staff also finds that the Chinese authorities have addressed all remaining operational issues identified in an initial staff analysis submitted to the Executive Board in July.

"I support the staff’s findings. The decision, of course, on whether the RMB should be included in the SDR basket rests with the IMF’s Executive Board. I will chair a meeting of the Board to consider the issue on November 30."