Financial Organization and Operations of the IMF

Pamphlet Series
No. 45 Sixth Edition

International Monetary Fund 2001

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Contents

Preface (38kb pdf file)

Abbreviations (28kb pdf file)

Conventions

Overview of the IMF as a Financial Institution (137kb pdf file)
Role and Purposes of the IMF
Evolution of the IMF's Financial Structure
Current Financial Structure and Lending Mechanisms of the IMF
   Regular Lending Operations (Chapter II)
   SDR Mechanism (Chapter III)
   Concessional Financing (Chapter IV)
   Safeguards for IMF Resources (Chapter V)
Financial Reporting and Audit Requirements
Sources of Information on IMF Finances
   IMF's Website
   Contacts in the Treasurer's Department
General Department (408kb pdf file)
Introduction
   General Resources Account
   Special Disbursement Account
   Investment Account
   The Balance Sheet
The Asset Side
   Credit Outstanding
      General Terms and Conditions
         Balance of Payments Need
         Access Policy
         Phasing of Purchases
         Repurchase Policies
   Financial Policies and Facilities
      Credit Tranche Policies
      Extended Fund Facility
      Supplemental Reserve Facility
      Contingent Credit Lines
      Compensatory Financing Facility
      Emergency Assistance
   Currency Holdings
      Valuation of Currencies
   SDR Holdings
   Gold Holdings
      Gold in the Articles of Agreement
      The IMF's Policy on Gold
      The IMF's Gold Since 1980
      Gold Pledge
      Off-Market Transactions in Gold
The Resource and Liability Side
   Reserve Tranche Positions
   Quotas
      General Reviews
      Ad Hoc Increases
      Role of the Quota Formulas
   Precautionary Balances
      Income and Expenses
         Operational Income
         Operational Expenses
         Administrative Expenses
   Borrowing
      Current Borrowing Arrangements
      Past Borrowing Arrangements
Management of Financial Resources and the Liquidity Position
   Financial Transactions Plan
Special Disbursement Account
IMF Accounts in Member Countries
   Disclosure of Financial Position with the IMF in the Member
      Country
SDR Department (212kb pdf file)
Background and Characteristics of the SDR
   Creation of the SDR
   SDR as a Reserve Asset
   Valuing the SDR and Determining the SDR Interest Rate
   Current Method of SDR Valuation
   Current Method of Determining the SDR Interest Rate
   Allocations and Cancellations of SDRs
      Recent Proposals for SDR Allocations
   Participants and Prescribed Holders
   Uses of SDRs
Operation of the SDR System
    Flows of SDRs and the Central Role of the IMF
    System of Two-Way Arrangements
    Pattern of SDR Holdings
Financial Statements of the SDR Department
Seminar on the Future of the SDR
Financial Assistance for Low-Income Members (157kb pdf file)
Overview of Concessional Assistance
PRGF and HIPC Operations
   PRGF Trust
      Eligibility, Terms, and Access for PRGF Resources
      Sources and Uses of Financing
      Financial Statements of the PRGF Trust
   PRGF-HIPC Trust
      The HIPC Initiative
      Continuation of PRGF Lending
      Sources and Uses of Financing
      Financial Statements of the PRGF-HIPC Trust
      Operational Structure
   Self-Sustained PRGF
New Investment Strategy
Safeguards for IMF Assets (250kb pdf file)
Safeguarding Available and Outstanding Credit
   Limiting Access and Providing Appropriate Incentives
   Conditionality and Program Design
   Safeguards Assessments of Central Banks
      Background
      Conceptual Framework
      Modalities
   Post-Program Monitoring
   Measures to Deal with Misreporting
      Background
      Procedures and Remedies
      Publication of Misreporting Cases
   Voluntary Safeguards
Dealing with Overdue Financial Obligations
   Overview
   The Cooperative Strategy
      Prevention
      Collaboration
      Remedial Measures
   Protecting the IMF' s Financial Position

Appendixes (103kb pdf file)

IMF Membership, Quotas, and Allocations of SDRs, as of April 30, 2001
Special Voting Majorities for Selected Financial Decisions
Other Administered Accounts
Disclosure of Financial Position with the IMF in the Balance Sheet of a Member' s Central Bank

Glossary (143kb pdf file)

Index (93kb pdf file)

Boxes
I.1. Decision-Making Structure of the IMF
I.2. Financial Structure of the IMF
I.3. IMF Finances Website
II.1. The IMF's Major Financing Mechanism
II.2. The Framework for Access to IMF Resources
II.3. Evolution of IMF Policies on Repurchases
II.4. Early Repurchase Policy: Minimum Repurchase Amounts
II.5. Earlier IMF Lending Instruments
II.6. Sources and Uses of the IMF's Gold
II.7. The Present Five Quota Formulas
II.8. Reserve Tranche Policies
II.9. The Burden-Sharing Mechanism
III.1. The Designation Mechanism
III.2. SDR Valuation: Determination of Currency Amounts and Actual Daily Weights
III.3. SDR Interest Rate: Calculation and Actual Weekly Weights
III.4. Borrowing of SDRs for Payment of the Reserve Asset Portion of a Quota Increase
III.5. The Circulation of SDRs
IV.1. Overview of Financing for the IMF's Concessional Assistance
IV.2. PRGF- and HIPC-Eligible Countries
IV.3. Enhanced HIPC Initiative: Qualification Criteria
IV.4. Investment Strategy
V.1. Safeguards Assessments of Central Banks
V.2. Measures for Deterrence of Overdue Financial Obligations to the IMF: Timetable of Procedures

Tables
II.1. Balance Sheet of the General Department, as of April 30, 2001
II.2. Financial Terms of IMF Credit
II.3. General Reviews of IMF Quotas
II.4. Changes in IMF Quotas
II.5. Level of Precautionary Balances in the GRA
II.6. Income Statement of the General Department, Financial Year Ended April 30, 2001
II.7. IMF Borrowing
II.8. General and New Arrangements to Borrow
II.9. IMF Financial Resources and Liquidity Position, April 30, 2001
III.1. Currency Weights in SDR Basket, 1996 and 2001
III.2. SDR Holdings of Selected Groups of Countries
III.3. Balance Sheet of the SDR Department, as of April 30, 2001
III.4. Income Statement of the SDR Department, Financial Year Ended April 30, 2001
IV.1. Lenders to the PRGF Trust, as of April 30, 2001
IV.2. PRGF Trust: Combined Balance Sheets, as of April 30, 2001
IV.3. PRGF Trust: Combined Income Statements, Financial Year Ended April 30, 2001
IV.4. PRGF-HIPC Trust: Financing Requirements and Sources of Financing, as of April 30, 2001
IV.5. HIPC Assistance by the IMF, Financial Year Ended April 30, 2001
IV.6. PRGF-HIPC Trust and Related Accounts: Combined Balance Sheets, as of April 30, 2001
IV.7. PRGF-HIPC Trust and Related Accounts: Combined Income Statements, Financial Year Ended April 30, 2001
V.1. Arrears to the IMF of Countries with Obligations Overdue for Six Months or More, by Type and Duration, as of April 30, 2001

Figures
II. 1. Member Financial Positions in the GRA
II. 2. Average Annual Access Under Stand-By and Extended Arrangements
II. 3. Early Repurchase Expectations
II. 4. Outstanding IMF Credit by Facility, Financial Years Ended April 30, 1990–2001
II. 5. Average Reserve Position of Members in the Financial Transactions Plan, January 1990–April 2001
II. 6. Reserve Positions, as of April 30, 2001
III. 1. Actual Currency Weights in SDR Basket, July 1990–April 2001
III. 2. Selected SDR Transactions, Financial Years Ended April 30, 1990–2001
III. 3. IMF's Holdings of SDRs, January 1990–April 2001
IV. 1. Outstanding IMF Concessional Credit by Facility, Financial Years Ended April 30, 1976–2001
IV. 2. Financial Structure of the PRGF Trust
IV. 3. PRGF Trust: Projected Outstanding Obligations and Reserve Account Balances
IV. 4. Financial Structure of the PRGF-HIPC Trust
V. 1. Overdue Financial Obligations to the IMF, January 1990–April 2001
V. 2. IMF Credit Outstanding and Overdue Repurchases, 1990–April 2001

Unless indicated otherwise, statistical information is given for financial year 2001, which began May 1, 2000 and ended April 30, 2001. Current financial information is available on the IMF's website (www.imf.org/external/fin.htm). The following conventions have been used in this pamphlet:
n.a.	to indicate not applicable;
...	to indicate that data are not available;
—	to indicate that the figure is zero or less than half the final digit shown or that the item does not exist;
( )	to indicate that the figure is negative;
–	between years or months (for example, 2000–01, or January–June) to indicate the years or months covered, including the beginning and ending years or months;
/	between years or months (for example, 2000/01) to indicate a fiscal or financial year.
"Billion" means a thousand million; "trillion" means a thousand billion. "Basis points" refer to hundredths of 1 percentage point (for example, 25 basis points are equivalent to 1/4 of 1 percentage point). Minor discrepancies between constituent figures and totals are due to rounding. All references to dollars are to U.S. dollars unless otherwise noted; as of April 30, 2001, the SDR/U.S. dollar exchange rate was US$1 = SDR 0.790019, and the U.S. dollar/SDR exchange rate was SDR 1 = US$1.26579. As used in this pamphlet, the term "country" does not in all cases refer to a territorial entity that is a state as understood by international law and practice. As used here, the term also covers some territorial entities that are not states but for which statistical data are maintained on a separate and independent basis.