The International Monetary Fund provides loans for a period. International Monetary Fund. Dossier. Main Functions of the IMF International Monetary Fund

Evgeny Borodin, consultant

General information

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) is a specialized agency of the United Nations established at the World Monetary and Financial Conference in Bretton Woods (USA, New Hampshire) in July 1944, at which its participants adopted the articles of the IMF agreement, which play the role of its charter. The Fund began its practical activities in May 1946 - it includes 39 countries. The USSR took part in the Bretton Woods conference, but due to the beginning of the Cold War, the articles of the IMF agreement were not ratified. For the same reason, Poland, Czechoslovakia, and Cuba left the IMF in the 1950s and 1960s.

During the "perestroika", the "Big Seven" made a decision: the European Union coordinates the provision of assistance to the countries of Eastern Europe, and directly the IMF - the USSR (then - Russia and the CIS countries). On June 1, 1992, Russia signed the articles of the IMF agreement and officially became a member of this organization.

The IMF currently has 185 member countries., almost all UN member countries except Cuba, North Korea, Andorra, Liechtenstein, Monaco, Nauru and Tuvalu.

The purpose of the IMF is to regulate the monetary and credit relations of member states and to assist them in the event of a balance of payments deficit by providing short- and medium-term loans in foreign currency.

The supreme governing body of the IMF is the Board of Governors, in which each member country is represented by a governor and his deputy. All governors meet once a year for the Annual Meetings of the IMF and the World Bank.

IMF policy is overseen by the International Monetary and Financial Committee (IMFC), 24 whose members are finance ministers or central bank governors of countries and groups of countries represented on the Executive Council.

The IMF's Executive Board is responsible for most decisions and consists of 24 Executive Directors. Russia is represented by Mozhin A.V. and Lushin A.. Eight countries with the largest quotas in the Fund appoint their directors - the USA, Japan, Germany, France, Great Britain, China, Russia and Saudi Arabia. The remaining 176 Member States are organized into 16 groups, each of which elects one Executive Director.

The Executive Board elects a Managing Director for a five-year term (since September 2007 - Dominique Strauss-Kahn, France).

By agreement between the founding countries of the Fund, the managing director must be a representative of one of the European countries, and the director of the World Bank must be a US citizen.

The IMF has approximately 2,700 staff and is headquartered in Washington DC. The Foundation has offices in more than 80 countries around the world, including in Russia.

The IMF earns income from interest and fees on loans and uses the income to cover financing costs, pay administrative expenses, and accumulate insurance balances. In fiscal year 2007, revenue was SDR111 million below expenses. The net income shortfall mainly reflects a significant reduction in outstanding IMF loans, from a peak of SDR 70 billion in September 2003 to SDR 7.3 billion at the end of fiscal year 2007, and due to weak demand for new IMF loans, as well as early repayment of loans by some member states in recent years.

Record-breaking borrowings from the IMF - $ 120 billion, fell on 1997-1999. The largest recipients of financial assistance during this period were the countries most affected by financial crises: South Korea, Indonesia, Brazil, and Russia.

Conditions for membership in the IMF and lending facilities

When joining the IMF, each member country pays a subscription fee called a "quota". Countries pay 25% towards their quota in the form of reserve assets, the so-called. HAPPY BIRTHDAY, or the main currency (US dollar, euro, Japanese yen, pound sterling). If necessary, for lending purposes, the IMF may request from a member country the remainder to be paid in its own currency. The quotas are reviewed every 5 years. The total amount of contributions from member countries forms the authorized capital of the IMF, which is used to provide temporary assistance to countries experiencing financial difficulties.

The quota is calculated on the basis of data on the volume of the country's GDP, as well as on the basis of the available foreign exchange reserves of states and determines the amount that it can borrow from the IMF and its voting right. The total amount of quotas in the IMF is equivalent to 217.4 billion SDRs. The United States has the largest quota of 37.149 billion SDRs or 371,743 (16.77%) votes, while Russia has 5.945 billion SDRs or 59,704 (2.69%) votes. However, the new Managing Director Strauss-Kahn, who was not supported by Russia during his appointment, proposes to reduce Russia's quota to 1.7-1.8% and transfer its influence to the level of the Persian Gulf countries, Thailand and Argentina. Together, the United States and the EU countries currently have 50% of the entire IMF voting quota and, in fact, can pass any decision regardless of the opinions of other countries combined, so reducing Russia's quota, by and large, has no practical significance.

Basic mechanisms and conditions for lending

When providing financial assistance, the Fund requires the borrowing country to fulfill certain conditions regarding its currency system, foreign trade, state budget balance, and the degree of their rigidity increases as you move from one tranche to another. The obligations of the borrowing country are recorded in a Letter of intent or Memorandum of Economic and Financial Policies sent to the IMF. Progress in meeting commitments is monitored through periodic evaluation. If the IMF considers that a country uses a loan in contradiction with the goals of the Fund, does not fulfill its obligations, it can limit its lending, refuse to provide the next tranche. Thus, this mechanism allows the IMF to exert economic and often political pressure on the borrowing countries.

Relations between Russia and the IMF

In January 1992, the Russian government officially applied to the IMF for financial assistance in the amount of $6 billion to create a stabilization fund. The first agreement on assistance was signed by M. Camdessus and E. Gaidar in early July 1992. On August 5, the first tranche of $1 billion was provided, which was used to replenish foreign exchange reserves, make payments on external debt and intervene in the foreign exchange market. However, Russia did not receive subsequent tranches of the reserve loan in 1992. The funds ($6 billion) intended for the ruble stabilization fund were not allocated either. The IMF explained the refusal by the fact that the Russian government evaded the implementation of the stabilization program agreed with it, the volume of GDP decreased by 14.5%, the federal budget deficit, instead of the planned level of 5% of GDP, reached (according to the IMF methodology) 22.4%, and inflation averaged 20.5% per month.

In June 1993, the IMF offered Russia a second $3 billion loan. within the framework of the newly created direction - "Assistance to system transformations" (System Transformation Facility - STF). Unlike other STF loans, the terms were less stringent and required the borrowing country not to impose trade restrictions. However, on September 19, 1993, the IMF suspended the transfer of money to the Russian Federation due to the fact that the Government was unable to contain inflation and cut budget spending. In 1994, negotiations were held with an IMF delegation, as a result, Russia received a second tranche of a $1.5 billion loan to support systemic reforms. After the currency shocks of the fall of 1994, culminating in Black Tuesday (October 11, 1994), The government has taken a course on suppressing inflation as the main macroeconomicgoals, which prompted support from the IMF. This resulted in the provision in April 1995 of a standby stabilization loan of $6.8 billion. The package of agreements with the IMF consisted not only of the requirement to reduce inflation to 2% per month, but also the state budget deficit to 8% of GDP. Monitoring was to be carried out every month (before that it was carried out quarterly) by a special working group consisting of representatives of the Ministry of Finance, the Central Bank and IMF experts.

From the point of view of Russia's external economic indicators, 1997 was the most successful year. In 1998, the economic situation in Russia deteriorated sharply in connection with the fall in world energy prices. As a result, in the first half of 1998 the balance of payments on the current account turned from active to passive with a deficit of $5.1 billion. financial assistance. The agreement with the IMF provided for a loan in four tranches, but the first loan provided could no longer save the situation, and on August 17, 1998, a default was declared in the country.

After the default, Russia did not receive financial assistance from the IMF. In 2005, the Government repaid its debt to the IMF ahead of schedule, paying $3.3 billion.

Russian IMF loans and their conditions

In recent years, IMF policy and recommendations in relation to developing countries have often been criticized, the essence of which is that the implementation of recommendations and conditions is ultimately not aimed at increasing the independence and development of the national economy, but only tying it to international financial flows.

Milton Friedman, an American economist and Nobel Prize winner in economics, believes that the IMF's policy has become a destabilizing factor in the markets of developing countries. And not because of the conditions that he imposed on his clients, but primarily because he is trying to protect private investors from their own mistakes. Mexico's bailout during the 1995 crisis spurred a crisis in other emerging markets. "It would not be an exaggeration to say, - emphasizes M. Friedman, - if the IMF did not exist, then there would be no East Asian crisis." This shows that international structures such as the IMF are not able to effectively solve the tasks assigned to them. Some economists even began to call for the termination of the IMF in the form in which it exists now.

Today, practically no one takes IMF-related financial loans, and therefore new IMF liabilities have sharply decreased: from SDR 8.3 billion in fiscal year 2006 to SDR 237 million in 2007, and those who previously received financial assistance from the IMF are trying to repay ahead of schedule debts. In fiscal year 2007, nine member countries: Bulgaria, Haiti, Indonesia, Malawi, Serbia, Uruguay, Philippines, Central African Republic, Ecuador settled their current IMF obligations ahead of schedule totaling SDR 7.1 billion.

International Monetary Fund, IMF(International Monetary Fund, IMF) is a specialized agency of the United Nations, the decision to establish which was made on monetary and financial issues in 1944. The agreement on the establishment of the IMF was signed by 29 states on December 27, 1945, and the Fund began its work on 1 March 1947 As of March 1, 2016, 188 states are members of the IMF.

The main objectives of the IMF are:

1. promotion of international cooperation in the monetary and financial sphere;
2. promoting the expansion and balanced growth of international trade, the achievement of a high level of employment and real incomes of member states;
3. ensuring the stability of currencies, maintaining orderly monetary relations and preventing the depreciation of national currencies in order to obtain competitive advantages;
4. assistance in the creation of multilateral settlement systems between member states, as well as in the elimination of currency restrictions;
5. provision of funds in foreign currency to the member states of the Fund in order to eliminate imbalances in their balance of payments.

The main functions of the IMF are:

1. promotion of international cooperation in the field of monetary policy and ensuring stability;
2. lending to member countries of the Fund;
3. stabilization of exchange rates;
4. advising governments, monetary authorities and financial market regulators;
5. development of international financial statistics standards and the like.

The authorized capital of the IMF is formed by contributions from member countries, each of which pays 25% of its quota in or in the currency of other member countries, and the remaining 75% in national currency. Based on the size of quotas, votes are distributed among member countries in the governing bodies of the IMF. As of March 1, 2016, the authorized capital of the IMF was 467.2 billion SDRs. Ukraine's quota is 2011.8 billion SDRs, which is 0.43% of the total IMF quota.

The supreme governing body of the IMF is the Board of Governors, in which each member country is represented by a governor and his deputy. As a rule, these are finance ministers or heads of central banks. The Council resolves key issues of the Fund's activities: amending the Articles of the Agreement on the IMF, admitting and expelling member countries, determining and reviewing their quotas in the Fund's capital, and electing executive directors. The session of the Council takes place, as a rule, once a year. Decisions of the Board of Governors are taken by a simple majority (at least half) of the votes, and on important issues - by a "special majority" (70 or 85%).

The other governing body is the Executive Board, which determines IMF policy and consists of 24 executive directors. Directors are appointed by the eight countries with the largest quotas in the Fund - the United States, Japan, Germany, France, Great Britain, China, Russia and Saudi Arabia. The rest of the countries are organized into 16 groups, each of which elects one executive director. Together with the Netherlands, Romania and Israel, Ukraine is part of the Dutch group of countries.

The IMF operates the principle of "weighted" number of votes: the ability of member countries to influence the activities of the Fund by voting is determined by their share in its capital. Each state has 250 "basic" votes, regardless of the size of its contribution to the capital, and an additional one vote for every 100,000 SDRs of the amount of this contribution.

An essential role in the organizational structure of the IMF is played by the International Monetary and Financial Committee, which is an advisory body of the Council. Its functions are to develop strategic decisions related to the functioning of the world monetary system and the activities of the IMF, develop proposals for amending the Articles of Agreement on the IMF, and the like. A similar role is also played by the Development Committee, the Joint Ministerial Committee of the Boards of Governors of the World Bank and the Fund (Joint IMF - World Bank Development Committee).

Part of its powers are delegated by the Board of Governors to the Executive Board, which is responsible for the day-to-day work of the IMF and resolves a wide range of operational and administrative issues, including granting loans to member countries and overseeing their policies.

The IMF's Executive Board elects a Managing Director for a five-year term, who leads the Fund's staff. As a rule, he represents one of the European countries.

In the event of problems in the country's economy, the IMF can provide loans, which, as a rule, are accompanied by certain recommendations aimed at improving the situation. Such loans, for example, were provided to Mexico, Ukraine, Ireland, Greece and many other countries.

Loans can be provided in four main areas.

1. On the basis of the reserve share (Reserve Tranche) of the IMF member country within 25% of the quota, the country can receive a loan almost freely on the first request.
2. On a credit share basis, a country's access to IMF credit resources cannot exceed 200% of its quota.
3. Based on Stand-by Arrangements, which have been provided since 1952 and provide a guarantee that, within a certain amount and subject to certain conditions, a country can freely receive a loan from the IMF in exchange for the national currency. In practice, this is done by opening the country. granted for periods ranging from several months to several years.
4. Based on the Extended Fund Facility, since 1974, the IMF has been providing loans for long periods and in amounts exceeding countries' quotas. The basis for a country's application to the IMF for a loan under expanded lending is a serious imbalance caused by unfavorable structural changes. Such loans are usually provided in tranches for several years. Their main purpose is to assist countries in implementing stabilization programs or structural reforms. The Fund requires the country to meet certain conditions. The obligations of the borrowing country, which provide for the implementation of appropriate financial and economic measures, are recorded in the Memorandum of Economic and Financial Policies and sent to the IMF. The progress of fulfillment of obligations is periodically monitored by evaluating the provided target criteria for the implementation of the Memorandum (Performance Criteria).

Cooperation between Ukraine and the IMF is carried out on the basis of regular missions of the IMF, as well as cooperation with the representative office of the Fund in Ukraine. As of February 1, 2016, Ukraine's total debt on loans to the IMF amounted to 7.7 billion SDRs.

(See Special Drawing Rights; Official website of the IMF:

Strauss-Kahn continues to fight for political survival, with supporters claiming the harassment allegations are a conspiracy. At the same time, within the International Monetary Fund (IMF) itself, the struggle for the post of head has already begun. Emerging economies demand that this prestigious seat be given to them, but the Europeans do not give up their claims either.

The International Monetary Fund is a $325 billion organization headquartered in Washington DC. Until very recently, the IMF had only one main issue - saving the euro. The share of this fund in aid packages for Greece, Ireland and Portugal is 78.5 billion euros. Quietly and effectively, the fund acted as an intermediary between Europe's debtors and donors.

After the arrest of the head of the IMF, Dominique Strauss-Kahn, which was carried out on Saturday evening, New York time, the fund itself became a toy for representatives of various interests. The once-powerful head of the IMF continues to fight for his political survival. His supporters are spreading rumors and evidence that the attempted rape charge is a secret service-style conspiracy. DSK - as it is sometimes abbreviated - did not allegedly attempt to rape the maid at New York's Sofitel hotel, as that was when he allegedly dined with his daughter.

Installed that nothing is installed. It is believed throughout the world that one should not rush to condemn him. Federal Chancellor Angela Merkel also said yesterday that the results of the investigation should be awaited.

She said so, but she did it differently. A few minutes later, Merkel, speaking on behalf of Europe, announced her claims to the position of head of the IMF: although in principle this is correct, and in the “medium term”, according to Merkel, countries with developing economies can claim leading positions in international organizations. “However, I believe that in today's conditions, when we have a lot of discussions about the European space, there are good reasons for Europe to have good candidates at its disposal,” she stressed.

Since ignoring one's own interests costs nothing, Merkel gave hope to emerging economies: "The conditions in the IMF should reflect the balance of power in the world," Merkel said at the G20 summit in Seoul. Shortly before this, the 20 major economies of the world decided to increase the share of the vote of countries with developing economies. The words of the head of the Eurogroup Jean-Claude Juncker (Jean-Cluade Juncker) sounded even more definite. Strauss-Kahn is "the last European" to head the IMF "for the foreseeable future," he said back in 2007.

Countries with developing economies have responded joyfully to this opinion of the West. It is high time to move away from a model dominated only by industrialized states, said Brazilian Finance Minister Guido Mantega.

Now comes the sobering up. And after sobering up, the struggle for power begins. Berlin announced yesterday that it was conducting soundings "with our European friends" on the issue of a candidate for the head of the IMF.

The struggle of emerging economies for more influence in the IMF began even before Strauss-Kahn's arrest. In April of this year, Brazil's finance minister complained that the Americans regularly run the World Bank and the Europeans run the IMF. Such a system, in his opinion, is already outdated. These posts should be distributed according to ability, and the process itself should be transparent, demanded the Brazilian.

In other words, those countries that are driving global growth - that is, China, India, and Brazil - should have a chance to take leadership positions in the future. The share of the leading countries with developing economies in the global gross domestic product only over the past 20 years (by 2010) increased from 10.4% to 24.2%, while the share of the seven largest industrial countries, on the contrary, decreased from 64.9% to 50 .7%.

Therefore, back in the fall, countries with developing economies received additional votes in the IMF. The finance ministers of the 20 largest industrialized and emerging economies (G20) have decided to distribute almost 6% of the voting rights previously held by industrial powers among countries such as China, India, Brazil and Russia. As a result of the reform, these four countries received more rights and more responsibility in the executive directorate of the International Monetary Fund. In March, this reform came into force.

Now they require changes on a personal level as well. That is why, immediately after the events with Dominique Strauss-Kahn in New York, the name of Turkish politician Kemal Dervis began to be mentioned more and more often. The architect of Turkey's ten-year-old economic reforms and longtime senior World Bank official comes from an emerging economy and is considered a brilliant economist. Since he is from Turkey, he could apparently be in the business of building bridges between Asia, Europe and the United States.

His work at the Washington-based World Bank has provided him with excellent connections. And in Europe, he no longer has the image of a person who primarily protects the interests of Turkey. Kemal Dervis is now seen more as an international economist who happens to hold a Turkish passport.

Dervis' name was already mentioned at the annual meeting of the Asian Development Bank, which took place almost a week ago in the Vietnamese city of Hanoi. Maybe it's time for an Asian to head the IMF. Nobel laureate Joseph Stiglitz also thinks he's an excellent candidate, as he said in a private discussion on Monday.

The Chinese leadership is rather reserved in connection with Strauss-Kahn's imminent departure, but in fact this scandal suits Beijing quite well - the European leaves his post in disgrace, and this creates the conditions for reviewing existing structures. The informal agreement of the industrialized states that the European should always be at the head of the International Monetary Fund is displeasing this rising economic power. From the Chinese point of view, this kind of arrangement is outdated and reminiscent of the times of colonialism.

Americans and Europeans can share leadership positions between themselves, since together they have enough votes to block other proposals. Even after the reform, China, as the second largest economy in the world, has 3.82% of the vote and is far behind the US, which has almost 17%. These figures also reflect the share of participation in invested capital. China, of course, would be willing to pay more for more influence, but under existing rules, it cannot do so.

That is why the Chinese at meetings like the G20 constantly advocate the introduction of a system that would more accurately reflect the world's economic realities. They see themselves as champions of the rights of other emerging economies, and besides, the Chinese secretly hope to secure a leading international role in this way.

Other emerging economies, including India and Russia, are far less ambitious about IMF reform. "They want to solve the problems they currently have, but they don't intend to rewrite the global rules of the game," said Paris-Dauphine University economist Jean Pisani-Ferry. China also assumes that it is not yet in a position to press its demands - after all, its own national currency is not yet freely convertible.

This is also why French government circles are discussing the idea of ​​keeping the existing structures and instead of Strauss-Kahn sending an internationally reputed Treasury Secretary, Christine Lagarde, to Washington. On paper, she
looks like a very suitable candidate: while working as a lawyer, she met all the major figures in the financial world, and during the financial crisis she earned herself a reputation as a charming but exceptionally tough negotiating partner. In addition, the post of head of the IMF could open up additional prospects for her, especially given the possible defeat of her boss, Nicolas Sarkozy, in the 2012 presidential election. So far, judging by the official statements made, she plans to compete for the mandate of a simple member of parliament.

Her problem: "The DSK case has undermined the credibility of France and their candidates for high international positions," they say in Paris. DSC is the internationally accepted abbreviation for Dominique Strauss-Kahn. In addition, Lagarde herself became a participant in a high-profile case, which, however, cannot be compared with the problems of Strauss-Kahn. She is accused of using her influence to win a favorable ruling for the well-known French entrepreneur in a dispute between the state and Bernard Tapie over the sale of a stake in Adidas. This case has not received much international publicity, but it may become an obstacle in the event that Lagarde will apply for the post of head of the IMF.

When it comes to such responsible positions as the head of the IMF, the candidate will be screened - and now for real - twice as carefully.

IMF- intergovernmental monetary and credit organization to promote international monetary cooperation on the basis of consultations of its members and the provision of loans to them.

It was created by decision of the Bretton Woods Conference in 1944 with the participation of delegates from 44 countries. The IMF began functioning in May 1946.

The International Monetary Fund is engaged in the collection and processing of statistical data on international payments, foreign exchange resources, the amount of foreign exchange reserves, etc. The IMF Charter obliges countries, when receiving loans, to provide information on the state of the country's economy, gold and foreign exchange reserves, etc. In addition, a country that has taken a loan must comply with the recommendations of the IMF to improve its economy.

The main task of the IMF is to maintain world stability. In addition, the tasks of the IMF include informing all members of the IMF about changes in the financial and other member countries.

More than 180 countries of the world are members of the IMF. When joining the IMF, each country contributes a certain amount of money as a membership fee, which is called a quota.

• education for lending to participating countries;
• determining the amount that a country can receive in the event of financial difficulties;
• determining the number of votes a participating country receives.

Quotas are reviewed periodically. The United States has the highest quota and, accordingly, the number of votes (it is just over 17%).

The procedure for granting loans

The IMF provides loans only for stabilizing the economy, bringing it out of the crisis, but not for economic development.

The procedure for granting a loan is as follows: they are provided for a period of 3 to 5 years at a slightly lower market rate. The transfer of the loan is carried out in installments, tranches. The interval between tranches can be from one to three years. This procedure is designed to control the use of credit. If the country does not fulfill its obligations to the IMF, then the transfer of the next tranche is postponed.

Before granting a loan, the IMF conducts a system of consultations. Several representatives of the fund travel to the country that has applied for a loan, collect statistical information on various economic indicators (price levels, employment levels, tax revenues, etc.) and compile a Report on the results of the study. Then the Report is discussed at a meeting of the IMF Executive Board, which develops recommendations and proposals for improving the country's economic situation.

• Promote the development of international cooperation in the monetary and financial sphere within the framework of a permanent institution that provides a mechanism for consultation and joint work on international monetary and financial problems.
• To promote the process of expansion and balanced growth of international trade and thereby achieve and maintain a high level of employment and real incomes, as well as the development of the productive resources of all Member States.
• promote currency stability, maintain an orderly exchange regime among member states and avoid using currency devaluations to gain competitive advantage.
• To assist in the establishment of a multilateral system of settlements for current transactions between member countries, as well as in elimination of currency restrictions that hinder growth.
• By temporarily making the Fund's general resources available to Member States, subject to adequate safeguards, to create a state of confidence in them, thus ensuring the ability to correct imbalances in their balance of payments without resorting to measures that could be detrimental to welfare at the national or international level.

General information

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) is the leading organization for international cooperation in the monetary and financial sector.

The IMF was created by decision of the Bretton Woods Conference in 1944 in order to increase the stability of the world monetary and financial system. The USSR took part in the creation of the IMF, but for a number of reasons of a political nature refused to become one of its founders.

• The Governor from the Russian Federation in the IMF is the Minister of Finance of the Russian Federation A.G. Siluanov.
• Deputy Governor from Russia in the IMF - Chairman of the Bank of Russia E.S. Nabiullina.
• Executive Director from Russia in the IMF - A.V. Mozhin.

Goals and objectives

The purpose of the activity is to maintain the stability of the global financial system.

The tasks of the IMF, in accordance with the Articles of Agreement (Charter), are:

• expansion of international cooperation in the monetary sphere;
• maintaining a balanced development of international trade relations;
• ensuring the stability of exchange rates, the orderliness of exchange regimes in the member countries;
• facilitating the creation of a multilateral settlement system and the elimination of currency restrictions;
• assistance to member countries in eliminating imbalances in the balance of payments through the temporary provision of funds;
• reducing external imbalances.

The main issues discussed during the regularly held Annual Meetings of the IMF Board of Directors and meetings of the International Monetary and Financial Committee (IMFC) are: reform of the international financial architecture and, first of all, the management system, quotas and votes, changes in the monetary policy of developed countries and their impact on the global economy as a whole, increasing the role of emerging market countries, reform of financial regulation, etc.

Financial resources

The financial resources of the IMF are formed mainly through contributions from member countries' quotas to the capital of the Fund. Quotas are calculated according to a formula based, among other things, on the relative size of the member countries' economies. The size of the quota determines the amount of funds that member countries are committed to provide to the IMF, and also limits the amount of financial resources that can be provided to a given country as a loan.

Cooperation of the Russian Federation with the IMF

The IMF currently has 189 member countries (including the Russian Federation). Russia has been a member of the IMF since 1992. During the period of membership, Russia has attracted funds from the IMF to maintain the stability of its financial system, totaling about 15.6 billion SDRs. In January 2005, Russia paid off its debt to the Fund ahead of schedule, as a result of which it acquired the status of an IMF creditor. In connection with this decision of the Board of Directors of the IMF, Russia was included in the Financial Operations Plan (FOP) of the Fund, thereby entering the circle of IMF members whose funds are used in the financial operations of the IMF.

In connection with the Fourteenth Quota Review held on February 17, 2016, the quota of the Russian Federation in the IMF was increased from 9945 to 12903.7 million SDRs.

Given the permanent nature of the Bank of Russia’s operations to provide IMF funds within the Russian Federation’s quota, and also due to the indefinite nature of the obligations of the IMF member countries to provide IMF funds, the course for maintaining IMF financing by the Russian Federation is maintained, and the validity of credit mechanisms (new borrowing agreements (NAB ), as well as bilateral agreements on borrowing) are extended on the terms proposed by the IMF.

The cooperation of the Russian Federation with the IMF is characterized by the active consulting activities of the Fund and the work with its participation to provide technical support (within the framework of the thematic missions of the Fund's experts, seminars, conferences, training events).

Cooperation between the Bank of Russia and the IMF

IMF Governor from Russia - Minister of Finance of the Russian Federation, Chairman of the Bank of Russia is Deputy Governor of the IMF from Russia. In 2010, the functions of financial interaction with the IMF were transferred by the Ministry of Finance of the Russian Federation to the Bank of Russia. The Bank of Russia is the depository of the IMF funds in Russian rubles and carries out operations and transactions stipulated by the Fund's Charter.

The Bank of Russia acts as a depository of the IMF funds. In particular, two IMF ruble accounts No. 1 and No. 2 were opened with the Bank of Russia. In addition, several depo accounts have been opened with the Bank of Russia, on which promissory notes of the Ministry of Finance and the Bank of Russia are registered in favor of the IMF. These bills are collateral for the obligations of the Russian Federation to make contributions to the capital of the IMF.

Currently, the Bank of Russia, on behalf of the Russian Federation, participates in the provision of financing to the IMF under loan agreements, information on which is given in the certificate posted at the following link: On loan agreements with the IMF.

The Central Bank of the Russian Federation cooperates with the IMF on various tracks of international work. Representatives of the Bank take part in sessions and annual meetings of the IMF, interacting at the expert level as part of a number of working groups, as well as during working meetings, consultations and videoconferences with IMF experts.

Since 2010, Russia (as a country with a globally systemically important financial sector) has been assessed for the state of the financial sector under the Financial Sector Assessment Program (FSAP), implemented by the IMF jointly with the World Bank. The role of the Bank of Russia is key in carrying out evaluation activities of the program. In this regard, it should be noted that the FSAP 2015/2016 has become the largest program since the beginning of its implementation in the Russian Federation. With the participation of the Bank of Russia, work is underway to prepare assessments of compliance with international standards and codes (ROSCs), in particular, in the area of ​​monetary policy, banking supervision and corporate governance. In this regard, the most relevant ROSCs for the Russian Federation at present are the assessment of the compliance of Russian banking regulation with the principles of the BCBS (ROSC BSP) and the assessment of the compliance of financial market regulation with the principles of the IOSCO (ROSC IOSCO) in 2016.

Representatives of the Bank of Russia take part in annual consultations with IMF missions under Article IV of the Fund's Charter, as well as in the preparation of the relevant final reports of the Fund.

An important area of ​​work is the participation of the Bank of Russia in the preparation of the IMF's Annual Report on Foreign Exchange Regimes and Foreign Exchange Restrictions (AREAER).

In addition, it is necessary to note the participation of the Bank of Russia in the implementation of the G20 Initiative to eliminate information gaps in financial statistics and interaction with the IMF to implement the recommendations of this initiative in Russia.

In accordance with the Special Data Dissemination Standard (SDDS), the IMF provides data on the balance of payments, external debt, and the dynamics of foreign exchange reserves.

In cooperation with departments and organizations, the Bank of Russia ensures participation in the analytical and research activities of the IMF, in the preparation of IMF publications and in the holding of specialized seminars and conferences.

Currently, the Bank of Russia seeks to attract the expertise of the Fund in order to implement a number of recommendations based on the results of the 2015/2016 FSAP program in the field of developing stress testing methods in the Bank of Russia, as well as to improve the quality and efficiency of the Bank of Russia’s monetary policy and the level of training relevant professionals.