International Monetary Fund, IMF(International Monetary Fund, IMF) is a specialized agency of the United Nations headquartered in Washington DC, USA.

On July 22, 1944, the basis of the agreement was developed at the United Nations on monetary and financial issues ( IMF charter). The most significant contribution to the development of the concept of the IMF was made by the head of the British delegation, and Harry Dexter White is a senior official at the US Department of the Treasury. The final version of the agreement was signed by the first 29 states on December 27, 1945 - the official date of the creation of the IMF. The IMF began operations on March 1, 1947 as part of Bretton Woods system. In the same year, France took the first loan. Currently, the IMF unites 188 states, and 2,500 people from 133 countries work in its structures.

The IMF provides short- and medium-term loans with balance of payments deficit but the states. The granting of loans is usually accompanied by a set of conditions and recommendations.

The policy and recommendations of the IMF in relation to developing countries have been repeatedly criticized, the essence of which is that the implementation of the recommendations and conditions is ultimately aimed not at increasing the independence, stability and development of the national economy of the state, but only at linking it to international financial flows.

Objectives of the IMF International Monetary Fund

The International Monetary Fund of the IMF sets itself the following goals:

1. Promote the development of international cooperation in the monetary and financial field within the framework of a permanent institution that provides a mechanism for consultation and joint work on international monetary and financial problems.
2. To promote the expansion and balanced growth of international trade and thereby favor the achievement and maintenance of a high level of employment and real incomes, as well as the development of the productive resources of all member states, considering these actions as the priorities of economic policy.
3. Maintain stability and orderliness currency regime among member states, and avoid currencies in order to gain a competitive edge.
4. To assist in the establishment of a multilateral system of settlements for current transactions between member states, as well as in the elimination of foreign exchange restrictions that impede the growth of world trade.
5. By temporarily providing the general resources of the Fund to Member States, subject to adequate guarantees, to create a state of confidence in them, thereby ensuring that imbalances in their balance of payments without the application of measures that could harm the well-being at the national or international level.
6. In line with the foregoing, reduce the duration of imbalances in the external balance of payments of member states, as well as reduce the scale of these violations.

Purpose and role of the IMF:

Main Functions of the IMF International Monetary Fund

• Promoting international cooperation in monetary policy;
• Expansion of world trade;
• Lending;
• Stabilization of monetary exchange rates;
• Advising debtor countries (debtors);
• Development of international financial statistics standards;
• Collection and publication of international financial statistics.

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International Monetary Fund (IMF)

An intergovernmental organization established to provide financial assistance in the form of foreign currency loans, as well as providing financial advice.

The IMF was formed at the end of 1944 during the Bretton Woods conference, but actually began to function only in 1946. The purpose of creating the fund is to increase the stability of the monetary and financial system, as well as to strengthen trade relations between the economies of different countries.

The financial resources of the IMF are formed through systematic monetary contributions made by member countries of this organization, and the size of the quota is determined by the level of development of the economy of a particular state. The same parameter affects the maximum amount of money that can be issued by the fund as a loan to a particular country. The number of votes that a participating country receives when voting directly depends on the size of the quota (the amount of money contributed to the fund).

Features of the provision of financial assistance

Acting as a guarantor of the stability of the global financial system, the IMF provides assistance to those countries whose economies are unstable for one reason or another. Along with consultations and meetings, the IMF provides financial assistance in the form of loans that are issued for a period of 3 to 5 years at a certain percentage. The entire loan amount is divided into certain parts - tranches, which allows the IMF to better control the fulfillment by the borrower of the loan obligations assumed.

Before issuing a loan, the representatives of the Fund must verify the reality of the threat of a crisis in the country, for which they analyze economic indicators: unemployment and inflation, prices, tax revenues, and so on. Based on the results of the statistical data, a report is compiled, which is discussed at a meeting of the IMF Executive Board. The decision to issue a loan is made on the basis of an open vote of representatives of the countries participating in the Fund.

The task of the International Monetary Fund is to maintain the stability of the world financial and economic system. Along with this, the IMF is also entrusted with the collection and processing of statistical data relating to international payments, foreign exchange reserves, inflation, public finance, money circulation and foreign exchange resources. The fundamental objectives of the International Monetary Fund are:

• Expansion and balanced growth of international trade, which improves the economic performance of each of the member states of the fund.
• Development of international cooperation in the field of monetary and financial relations through consultations and meetings with the aim of solving international monetary and financial problems.
• Maintaining the stability of the world's leading currencies, preventing devaluation and other negative aspects in different countries.
• Creation of a multilateral system of international settlements for trade transactions in order to eliminate restrictions and obstacles in the development of the world economy.
• Correction of imbalances in the balance of payments of countries with developing economies by providing them with loans from the general resources of the Fund.

Currently, the IMF includes over 180 states, including the Russian Federation, which became a member of the fund in 1992. In 2005, Russia paid off its debt to the International Monetary Fund ahead of schedule, thanks to which it acquired the status of a creditor, at the same time increasing the quota for contributions and strengthening its influence in the organization.

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) was created to maintain stability in international monetary relations. Its official tasks, set out in the IMF Charter, are cooperation in international monetary matters, assistance in stabilizing currencies, eliminating currency restrictions and creating a multilateral settlement system between countries, providing member countries with foreign exchange resources to eliminate temporary violations of their balance of payments. From the beginning of the 80s. The IMF began to provide medium- and long-term loans (for 7-10 years) for "economic restructuring" to member countries that are implementing radical economic and political reforms.

The IMF began operations in March 1947 as a specialized body of the United Nations. The location of the central office, Washington, has its branches and representative offices in a number of countries. The founders of the IMF were 44 countries, in 1999 its members were 182 states.

In the governing bodies, votes are determined in accordance with the size of quotas. Each country has 250 votes plus 1 vote for every 100,000 SDRs of its quota. Decisions are made by a simple majority (at least half) of the votes, and on the most important issues - by a special majority (85% of the votes are of a strategic nature, and 70% are of an operational nature). Since the leading countries of the West have the largest number of quotas in the IMF (the United States - 17.5%, Japan - 6.3, Germany - 6.1, Great Britain and France - 5.1 each, Italy - 3.3%), and in general 25 economically developed states - 62.8%, then these countries control and direct its activities in their own interests. It should be noted that the US, as well as EU countries (30.3%), can veto key decisions of the Fund, since their adoption requires a qualified majority of votes (85%). The role of other countries in decision-making is small, given their insignificant quotas (Russia - 3.0%, China - 3.0%, Ukraine - 0.69%).

Authorized capital The IMF is formed from the contributions of member states in accordance with the quota established for each country, which is determined based on the economic potential of the country and its place in the world economy and foreign trade.

In addition to equity, the IMF raises borrowed funds to expand its lending activities. To replenish credit resources, the IMF uses the following "mechanisms":

Master Loan Agreement;

new loan agreements;

borrowing funds from member countries of the IMF.

In 1962, the Fund signed with 10 economically developed countries (USA, Germany, Great Britain, Japan, France, etc.) Master Loan Agreement, which provided for the provision of revolving loans to the Fund. This agreement was originally concluded for 4 years, and then began to be renewed every 5 years. The credit limit was initially set at 6.5 billion CIIIA dollars, and in 1983 increased to 17 billion SDRs (23.3 billion US dollars). To address financial emergencies, the IMF Executive Board (Directorate) expanded the Fund's borrowing capacity by approving in 1997 New Loan Arrangements under which the IMF could raise up to SDR 34 billion (about $45 billion). The IMF also resorts to obtaining loans from central banks (in particular, it received a number of loans from the national banks of Belgium, Saudi Arabia, Japan and other countries).

The Fund, in turn, provides the funds received on the terms of a loan for a certain period with the payment of a certain percentage.

The most important direction of the Fund's activity is its lending operations. According to the statute. The IMF provides loans to member countries to rebalance their balance of payments and stabilize exchange rates. The IMF carries out lending operations only with the official bodies of member countries: treasuries, central banks, stabilization funds.

A country in need of foreign currency or SDRs purchases them from the Fund in exchange for an equivalent amount in local currency, which is credited to the IMF's account at the country's central bank. After the expiration of the established term of the loan, the country is obliged to perform the reverse operation, i.e., to redeem from the Fund the national currency held in a special account and return the received foreign currency or SDR. Such loans are given for up to 3 years and less often -5 years. For the use of loans, the IMF charges a fee of 0.5% of the loan amount and an interest rate for using the loan, the amount of which is set on the basis of market rates in force at the relevant time (most often it is 6-8% per annum). If the national currency of the debtor country held by the IMF is bought by any member country, then this is considered as repayment of the debt to the Fund.

The amount of loans provided by the Fund and the possibility of obtaining them are related to the fulfillment by the borrowing country of a number of conditions that are not always acceptable for these countries.

IMF since the early 1950s. began to conclude with member countries standby loan agreements or Stand-by Arrangements. Under such an agreement, a member country has the right to receive foreign currency from the IMF in exchange for national currency at any time, but on terms agreed with the Fund.

In order to assist IMF member countries experiencing difficulties in economic development for reasons beyond their control, as well as to assist in solving extensive problems of an economic and social nature. The Fund has created a number of special mechanisms that provide funds on foreign exchange terms. These include:

A mechanism for compensatory and emergency financing, the funds of which are allocated in connection with natural disasters that have befallen the country, unforeseen changes in world prices and other reasons;

Financing mechanism for buffer (reserve) stocks of raw materials created in accordance with international agreements;

The Financial Support Facility for External Debt Reduction and Servicing, which allocates funds to developing countries in external debt crises;

Structural Transformation Support Facility, which funds are channeled to countries in transition to a market economy through radical economic and political reforms.

In addition to the mechanisms that are currently functioning, the IMF created temporary special funds that were designed to help overcome currency crises that arose for various reasons (for example, an oil fund - to cover additional costs due to a significant increase in prices for oil and oil products; a trust fund - to provide assistance to the poorest countries at the expense of proceeds from the sale of gold from the IMF reserves, etc.).

Russia became a member of the IMF in 1992. In terms of the size of the allocated quota (4.3 billion SDRs, or 3%) and the number of votes (43.4 thousand, or 2.9%), it ranked 9th. Over the past years, Russia has received various types of loans from the Fund (reserve loans - stand-by, to support structural adjustment, etc.). In March 1996, the Board of Governors of the IMF approved the provision of an extended loan to Russia in the amount of $10.2 billion, which has already been used for the most part, including to repay the Fund's debt on previously granted loans. As of January 1, 1999, Russia's total debt to the Fund was $19.7 billion.

The World Bank Group includes the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD) and its three affiliates - the International Development Association (MAP), the International Finance Corporation (IFC) and the Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA).

Headed by a single leadership, each of these institutions independently, at the expense of its available funds and on various conditions, finances investment projects and promotes the implementation of economic development programs in a number of countries.

International Monetary Fund- IMF, a financial institution attached to the United Nations. One of the main functions of the IMF is the issuance of loans to states to compensate for the deficit in the balance of payments. The issuance of loans, as a rule, is linked to a set of measures recommended by the IMF to improve the economy.

The International Monetary Fund is a special institution of the United Nations. The head office is located in the capital of the USA - the city of Washington.

The International Monetary Fund was founded in July 1944 of the last century, but only in March 1947 did it begin its practice, issuing short-term and medium-term loans to needy countries in the face of a deficit in the country's balance of payments.

The IMF is an independent organization operating according to its own charter, the purpose is to establish cooperation between countries in the field of monetary finance, as well as to stimulate international trade.

Functions of the IMF come down to the following steps:

• facilitating cooperation between states on financial policy issues;
• growth in the level of trade in the global services market;
• providing loans;
• balancing;
• advising debtor states;
• development of the international bases of monetary reporting and statistics;
• publication of statistics in the region.

The powers of the IMF (International Monetary Fund) include actions to form and issue financial reserves to participants under a special form “Special Privileges for Borrowing”. The IMF's resources come from the signatures, or "quotas" of fund members.

At the top of the IMF pyramid is the general board of governors, which includes the head and his deputy of the fund's member country. Most often, the minister of finance of the state, or the governor of the Central Bank, acts as a manager. It is the meeting that decides all the main issues regarding the activities of the International Monetary Fund. The executive board, which consists of twenty-four directors, is responsible for formulating the fund's policy and carrying out its activities. The privilege of choosing the head is used by 8 countries that have the largest quota in the fund. They include almost all of the G8 countries.

The Executive Board of the IMF selects the manager for the next five years, who heads the overall staff. Since the second summer month of 2011, the head of the IMF is the Frenchman Christine Lagarde.

Impact of the International Monetary Fund on the global economy

The IMF gives credit to countries in a couple of cases: to pay off the payments deficit and maintain the macroeconomic stability of states. A country that needs additional foreign currency buys it or borrows it, providing the same amount in exchange, only in the currency that is official in this country and enters as a depository in the current account of the IMF.

In order to strengthen international economic cooperation within the framework of international relations and create prosperous economies, organizations such as the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank were conceived in the 44th year. Despite similar ideas, the tasks and functions of the two organizations are somewhat different.

Thus, the IMF supports the development of international relations in the field of financial security, providing short-term and medium-term loans, as well as advice on economic policy and maintaining financial stability.

In turn, the World Bank is taking measures to allow countries to achieve economic potential, as well as to reduce the poverty threshold.

Working together in a variety of areas, the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank are helping countries reduce poverty by easing the debt burden. Twice a year, the organizations hold a joint meeting.

Cooperation between the IMF and Belarus began in July 1992. It was on this day that the Republic of Belarus became a member of the International Monetary Fund. Belarus' initial quota was just over SDR 280 million, which was later increased to SDR 386 million.

The IMF assists the Republic of Belarus in three ways:

• cooperation with and the Government of the Republic of Belarus on issues of programs in the field of the national economy, focusing on tax, monetary and trade policy;
• provision of resources in the form of loans and;
• expert and technical assistance.

The IMF provided financial assistance to Belarus twice. So in 1992, the Republic of Belarus was granted a loan in the amount of 217.2 million US dollars for systemic transformations in . And another 77.4 million under the stand-by loan agreement. By the beginning of 2005, the country paid off in full with the IMF.

The second time, the country's leadership turned to the IMF in 2008 with a request to lend again through the stand-by system. The financing program was agreed in January 2009 and the Republic of Belarus was allocated US$2.46 billion for a period of fifteen months. The amount was later increased to US$3.46 billion.

The implemented programs allowed the Republic of Belarus to maintain stability in the market of foreign exchange transactions, the stability of the financial system, to avoid a deficit in the balance of payments and to do the impossible - to reduce it, minimizing it.

The Belarusian authorities are negotiating a new IMF loan in the amount of $3 billion at 2.3% for a period of 10 years. To provide a loan, the IMF calls on Belarus to implement a comprehensive economic reform strategy.

At the beginning of 2017, the main issues of negotiations were the change in housing and communal services tariffs and the improvement of the work of the public sector of the economy. The IMF is calling for a series of reforms for SOEs to improve their productivity and efficiency, and recommends sequencing efforts to achieve full cost recovery in the housing sector.

Increases in tariffs for housing and communal services and the privatization of state-owned enterprises are the key topics in negotiations with the IMF. For its part, the country's Foreign Ministry believes that in matters of raising tariffs in housing and communal services, as well as the privatization of the public sector, one should move in stages.

As the IMF notes, it is of great importance to improve the country's business climate, including through accession to the WTO and the development of competition in commodity markets. The country also needs to pursue a prudent monetary policy to maintain macroeconomic and financial stability.

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) was established simultaneously with the World Bank at a conference of central bank economists and other government officials of the major trading powers in Bretton Woods (USA) in July 1944. The governments of 29 countries signed the IMF Agreement on December 27, 1945. The fund began its activities on March 1, 1947. It has the status of a specialized agency of the United Nations.

The organization was created to restore international trade and create a stable world monetary system. The first country to receive IMF assistance on May 8, 1947, was France - it received $25 million to stabilize the financial system that had suffered during the German occupation.

At present, the main tasks of the fund are to coordinate the monetary and financial policies of the member countries, to provide them with short-term loans to regulate the balance of payments and maintain exchange rates.

The IMF played an important role in keeping the Bretton Woods agreements functioning, which consisted of a fixed price for gold and fixed exchange rates against the dollar (freely exchangeable for gold). In the first decades, the IMF most often issued loans to European countries to maintain a trade balance with the United States: Great Britain, France, Germany and other countries had to buy the dollar at a greatly inflated price due to its peg to gold (providing the dollar with gold for 25 years after the end of World War II the war was reduced from 55 to 22%). In particular, in 1966, the UK received $4.3 billion to prevent the devaluation of the pound sterling, but on November 18, 1967, the British currency still depreciated by 14.3%, from $2.8 to $2.4 per pound.

In 1971, due to rising military spending, the United States abolished the free exchange of dollars for gold for foreign governments: the Bretton Woods system ceased to exist. It was replaced by a new principle based on the free trade of currencies (the Jamaican Monetary System). After that, Western Europe no longer had to buy an overvalued dollar against gold and resort to IMF assistance to correct the trade balance. In this environment, the IMF switched to lending to developing countries. The reasons were the crises of oil importers after the crises of 1973 and 1979, the subsequent crises of the world economy and the transition to a market economy of the former socialist countries.

Starting in the 1970s, the IMF began to actively put forward demands on borrowing countries for structural economic reforms (the very possibility of making demands was introduced as early as 1952). Among the typical conditions for the allocation of loans was the reduction of state funding for agriculture and industry, the removal of barriers to imports, and the privatization of enterprises. IMF experts stated that these reforms would help states build an efficient market economy, however, the UN Conference on Trade and Development, as well as many experts, pointed out that the actions of the fund only worsened the situation of states, in particular, led to a significant decrease in food production and hunger. For a long time, Argentina, which began borrowing money from the Fund in 1985, was considered a model for the effective implementation of IMF recommendations, but in 2001 the state's economic policy led to a default and a protracted crisis.

The main sources of financial resources of the IMF are the quotas of the member states of the organization. Since 1967, the IMF has been issuing a global reserve payment unit for domestic settlements, known as special drawing rights (SDRs). It has a non-cash form, is used to regulate the balance of payments and can be exchanged for currency within the organization. The main source of funding for the IMF is the quotas of member states, which are transferred upon joining the organization and can subsequently be increased. The total resource of quotas is SDR 238 billion, or about $368 billion, of which Russia's share is SDR 5.95 billion (about $9.2 billion), or 2.5% of the total quotas. The largest share belongs to the United States - 42.12 billion SDR (about $65.2 billion), or 17.69% of the total quotas.

In 2010, the G20 leaders agreed in Seoul to revise quotas in favor of developing countries. As a result of the 14th quota review, their total size will be doubled from SDR 238.4 billion to SDR 476.8 billion, in addition, more than 6% of quotas will be reallocated from developed countries to developing countries. So far, this review of quotas has been ratified by the United States.

The supreme body of the IMF is the Board of Governors, which consists of two people (manager and his deputy) from each country - a member of the organization. Typically, these positions are occupied by finance ministers or heads of central banks. Traditionally, the Board of Governors meets once a year. At present, the representative of the Russian Federation in the council is the head of the Russian Ministry of Finance Anton Siluanov.

Administrative functions and day-to-day management are entrusted to the Managing Director (since 2011 this post has been occupied by Christine Lagarde) and the Board of Executive Directors, which consists of 24 people (eight directors are appointed from the USA, Germany, Japan, Great Britain, France, China, Saudi Arabia and The Russian Federation, the rest represent groups of states (for example, Northern Europe, North and South South America, etc.) Each of the directors has a certain number of votes depending on the size of the country's economy and its quota in the IMF.The Board is re-elected every 2 years. The Russian Federation has 2.39% of the total number of votes, the United States has the most votes - 16.75%.

As of August 2014, the IMF's largest borrowers are Greece (with about $4.5 billion in loans), Ukraine (about $3 billion), and Portugal (about $2.3 billion). In addition, loans to maintain the stability of the national economy have been approved for Mexico, Poland, Colombia and Morocco. At the same time, Ireland has the largest debt to the IMF, about $30 billion.

Russia last received money from the IMF in 1999. In total, from 1992 to 1999, the IMF allocated $26.992 billion to Russia. The full repayment of Russia's debt to the IMF was announced on February 1, 2005.

The number of IMF employees is about 2.6 thousand in 142 countries of the world.

The organization is headquartered in Washington, DC.