## Annual Update on SDR Trading Operations (September 1, 2023–August 31, 2024)

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**Canonical URL:** [Annual Update on SDR Trading Operations (September 1, 2023–August 31, 2024)](https://www.imf.org/-/media/files/publications/pp/2024/english/ppea2024043.pdf)

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### Introduction and scope
- Update on the status of the SDR trading market and operations for the period September 1, 2023 to August 31, 2024.
- SDRs exchanged for freely usable currencies primarily through Voluntary Trading Arrangements (VTAs); a small fraction arranged directly between parties.
- VTAs: bilateral arrangements between the Fund and SDR department participants or prescribed holders, with agreed buy/sell limits.
- Coverage: SDR trading operations during September 2023–August 2024 and data/trends for the past 12 months and the last five years (2019–2024).

### High-level findings on SDR trading volumes and transactions
- Reporting period totals (September 2023–August 2024):
  - SDR 13.5 billion were sold through the VTA market (97 SDR sales transactions).
  - Of SDR 13.5 billion sold:
    - SDR 7.3 billion exchanged by 25 participants into currencies.
    - SDR 5.4 billion sold by the Poverty Reduction and Growth Trust (PRGT) and the Resilience and Sustainability Trust (RST) for liquidity management and to facilitate investment of SDR contributions.
  - SDR acquisitions totaled SDR 6.9 billion across 243 acquisitions.
- Comparison with prior 12 months (September 2022–August 2023):
  - Sales decreased from SDR 17.9 billion (140 sales) to SDR 13.5 billion (97 sales).
  - Acquisitions increased from SDR 5.3 billion (195 transactions) to SDR 6.9 billion (243 transactions).

### SDR Sales through VTAs — drivers and composition
- Drivers of decline in number and volume of SDR sales through VTAs:
  - Outright sales by participants decreased from SDR 9.8 billion to SDR 4.7 billion.
  - SDR contributions by the Trusts converted into currencies decreased from SDR 8.0 billion to SDR 5.4 billion.
  - Sales of SDRs by borrowing members who received SDRs in GRA purchases or PRGT/RST loans increased from SDR 0.1 billion to SDR 3.4 billion.
- Cumulative conversions since the 2021 SDR allocation:
  - VTA market supported conversion of SDR 50.5 billion into currencies:
    - SDR 34.2 billion by 74 SDR department participants.
    - SDR 13.7 billion by the Trusts.
    - SDR 2.6 billion by prescribed holders.
- Participant sales characteristics (reporting period):
  - All participant sales were made by Emerging Markets and Developing countries (EMDCs).
  - 25 participants sold SDR 7.3 billion through VTAs.
  - Individual sale requests ranged from SDR 1 million to SDR 822 million.
  - Low Income Countries (LICs) accounted for 29 percent of the total SDR sales volume.
  - Average of SDR 606 million per month in sales during September 2023–August 2024 (compared to an average of SDR 740 million in the preceding 12-month period).
- Cumulative since January 2019:
  - SDR sales totaled SDR 57.4 billion across 489 transactions with an average size of SDR 117.3 million, made by 79 SDR participants and 6 prescribed holders.

### SDR conversions by IMF-administered Trusts
- Trusts converted SDR 5.4 billion into currencies through the VTA market in the reporting period to support investment of SDR contributions (about 40 percent of total SDR sales volume).
- Exchanges by the Trusts amounted to about 43 percent of the total sales volume; this level is expected to continue in the near term as members fulfill commitments to increase resources to the PRGT and RST.

### SDR transactions by prescribed holders
- Prescribed holders exchanged a total of SDR 0.8 billion in the reporting period compared with SDR 1.0 billion in the previous reporting period.
- Prescribed holders’ SDR holdings remain modest at SDR 2.1 billion (about 0.3 percent of total SDR holdings).

### Acquisitions of SDRs through VTAs and GRA — drivers and trends
- Reporting period acquisitions (September 2023–August 2024):
  - 243 acquisitions amounting to SDR 6.9 billion (compared to 195 transactions for SDR 5.3 billion in the previous 12 months).
- Primary factors for increased acquisitions:
  - Participant requests to replenish SDR holdings to cover charges to the IMF amid elevated SDR interest rate environment:
    - Daily average SDR interest rate was 4.082 percent, compared to the average of 3.234 percent in the preceding 12-month period.
    - Acquisitions from the GRA to cover charges increased from SDR 2,051 million to SDR 2,131 million during the 12-month period.
  - Contributions in currencies to the Administered Account for Ukraine converted into SDRs totaled about SDR 1.1 billion (compared with SDR 1.7 billion in the prior reporting period).
- Cumulative purchases since January 2019:
  - Fund assisted 80 participants and 2 prescribed holders in over 600 purchase transactions through VTAs amounting to SDR 12.8 billion.
  - A total of 216 purchase transactions (SDR 5.7 billion) were handled through the GRA.

### SDR holdings and participant vulnerability
- Participants with low SDR holdings:
  - Currently 40 participants with SDR holdings of less than five percent of their cumulative allocation, compared to 33 participants at end-August 2023.
- Policy emphasis and staff action:
  - Participants are strongly encouraged to proactively manage SDR balances to ensure sufficient SDRs to meet upcoming obligations to the IMF payable in SDRs.
  - Importance heightened in a high interest rate environment where charges on SDR-denominated obligations are expected to increase over time.
  - IMF staff will continue to monitor SDR balances and prompt participants to ensure timely acquisition of SDRs.

### Voluntary Trading Arrangements (VTAs) capacity and participation
- VTA participation and onboarding:
  - Number of VTA participants increased from 40 to 41 during the reporting period with Qatar onboarded as a new VTA participant.
  - Since the 2021 allocation, nine new VTA participants onboarded: Algeria, Brazil, Estonia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Mauritius, Oman, Qatar, and Singapore.
  - Since the 2021 allocation, 40 VTAs have been used.
- VTA capacities as of August 31, 2024:
  - Buying capacity: about SDR 202 billion.
  - Selling capacity: SDR 172 billion.
  - Prior year capacities: SDR 208 billion (buying) and SDR 165 billion (selling).
- VTAs continue to have ample capacities to meet demand for exchange of SDRs into currencies.
- VTAs consider minimum and maximum SDR amounts participants are willing to hold and actual SDR holdings.
- VTAs have remained responsive to staff requests for operational flexibilities when needed.
- Discussions with potential new entrants continue in the broader context of SDR channeling, with a strong expectation that contributors have VTAs.

### Bilateral SDR transactions: recent activity and cumulative totals
- Current period bilateral transactions:
  - 34 bilateral transactions amounting to SDR 0.8 billion.
  - Average annual amount over the last five years: SDR 0.5   billion.
  - Primary purposes: settlement of financial obligations between counterparties or between participants and their regional central banks.
  - Volume increase in 2023 mainly due to extension of an SDR loan between participants, fully settled in SDRs within the same period.
- Cumulative since 2019:
  - 204 bilateral transactions conducted amounting to SDR 3.5 billion.
- Table 3 summary (January 1, 2019–August 31, 2024; in millions of SDRs):
  - Number of Transactions by year: 2019: 30; 2020: 32; 2021: 36; 2022: 36; 2023: 45; Jan-Aug 2023: 25; Total 2019–Aug 2024: 204; Sep 2022–Aug 2023: 45; Sep 2023–Aug 2024: 34.
  - Amount by year: 2019: 26; 2020: 41; 2021: 376; 2022: 463; 2023: 1,794; Jan-Aug 2023: 779; Total 2019–Aug 2024: 3,480; Sep 2022–Aug 2023: 1,804; Sep 2023–Aug 2024: 794.

### New authorized use of SDRs for acquisition of hybrid capital instruments
- On May 10, 2024, the IMF’s Executive Board authorized the use of SDRs by IMF members for acquisition of hybrid capital instruments issued by prescribed holders.
- New use subject to a cumulative limit of SDR 15 billion.
- Strong expectation that participants channeling SDRs to prescribed holders under such capital contributions have VTAs in place to ensure sufficient liquidity and equitable distribution of potential SDR exchanges into currencies.
- No requests by participants to use SDRs to acquire hybrid capital instruments from prescribed holders in the current period.

### VTAs: aggregate capacities, market functioning, and modalities for allocations
- Aggregate VTA capacities (end-August 2024):
  - Purchasing capacity: about SDR 202 billion.
  - Selling capacity: about SDR 172 billion.
- Table 4 summary (VTAs: trading ranges and average capacities, as of August 31, 2024; in millions of SDRs, unless otherwise indicated):
  - Standard / 50 – 150 / 145 / 6,747 / 4,053 / 70,039 / 5,003
  - Eurosystem¹ / 65 – 135 / 19 / 60,837 / 3,202 / 66,198 / 3,484
  - Other various ranges / 25 – 200 / 88 / 4,205 / 10,526 / 35,812 / 4,477
  - Total / 41 / 201,790 / 4,922 / 172,050 / 4,196
  - ¹ Two non-euro system participants have adopted this range. Includes the nominal trading range for the ECB, a prescribed holder of SDRs, that adds to the euro area trading capacity.
- Criteria used to distribute sale and purchase requests across VTAs:
  - Relative dispersion of SDR holdings across VTAs (ratio of SDR holdings-to-allocation).
  - Scope of VTAs to absorb a transaction (deviation from midpoint of VTA trading range).
  - Other considerations: relative use of each VTA as a share of allocation of total VTAs, individual transaction and counterparty limits, currency preferences, notification periods and holidays, and need to split large requests among multiple VTAs.
- Modalities outcomes:
  - 40 (out of 41) VTAs were utilized in the reporting period.
  - Each VTA participated on average in 7 SDR trades.
  - SDR holdings of VTA participants clustered tightly around median holdings-to-allocation ratio of 104.0 percent.
  - SDR holdings-to-allocation ratio of VTA participants increased on average by about 0.6 percentage points during the reporting period (cumulative by 4.9 percentage points since the SDR allocation).

### VTA participation, trading by region, and transaction volumes (September 1, 2023–August 31, 2024)
- SDR Sales (region-level summary; amounts in millions of SDRs):
  - Total VTAs available: 41; VTAs used: 30; Number of Sales: 97; Amount of SDR Sales: 13,467; Percent of Sales: 100; Percent by Purchasing Capacity: 100.
  - Africa: VTAs Available 1; VTAs Used 2; Number of Sales 14; Amount of SDR Sales 0; Percent of Sales 0.
  - Asia and Pacific: VTAs Available 6; VTAs Used 6; Number of Sales 26; Amount of SDR Sales 4,790; Percent of Sales 36; Percent by Purchasing Capacity 31.
  - Europe: VTAs Available 25; VTAs Used 16; Number of Sales 37; Amount of SDR Sales 4,184; Percent of Sales 31; Percent by Purchasing Capacity 34.
  - Middle East & Central Asia: VTAs Available 4; VTAs Used 2; Number of Sales 9; Amount of SDR Sales 115; Percent of Sales 1; Percent by Purchasing Capacity 4.
  - Western Hemisphere: VTAs Available 5; VTAs Used 5; Number of Sales 23; Amount of SDR Sales 4,364; Percent of Sales 32; Percent by Purchasing Capacity 31.
- SDR Acquisitions (region-level summary; amounts in millions of SDRs):
  - Total VTAs available: 41; VTAs used: 33; Number of Acquisitions: 179; Amount of SDR Acquisitions: 4,776; Percent of Acquisitions: 100; Percent by Selling Capacity: 100.
  - Africa: VTAs Available 1; VTAs Used 1; Number of Acquisitions 6; Amount of SDR Acquisitions 8; Percent of Acquisitions 0.
  - Asia and Pacific: VTAs Available 6; VTAs Used 4; Number of Acquisitions 33; Amount of SDR Acquisitions 726; Percent of Acquisitions 15; Percent by Selling Capacity 25.
  - Europe: VTAs Available 25; VTAs Used 21; Number of Acquisitions 95; Amount of SDR Acquisitions 2,730; Percent of Acquisitions 57; Percent by Selling Capacity 51.
  - Middle East & Central Asia: VTAs Available 4; VTAs Used 3; Number of Acquisitions 15; Amount of SDR Acquisitions 75; Percent of Acquisitions 2; Percent by Selling Capacity 4.
  - Western Hemisphere: VTAs Available 5; VTAs Used 4; Number of Acquisitions 30; Amount of SDR Acquisitions 1,237; Percent of Acquisitions 26; Percent by Selling Capacity 20.

### SDR reporting and published information
- The Fund publishes a wide range of information about the SDR and its uses:
  - Annual and quarterly financial reports include holdings and allocations by participants and holdings by prescribed holders and aggregate SDR flow data.
  - Quarterly financial reports include net changes in individual participants’ SDR holdings split into: (i) IMF operations; and (ii) SDR trading and other uses.
  - IMF Finances webpage publishes monthly information on SDR holdings and allocations of participants.
  - Periodic IMF Financial Operations publication provides extensive information on functioning of the voluntary SDR trading market, including operating modalities, capacity, trading by region, and aggregate transaction volumes.
  - Information on SDR channeling pledges and delivery of these pledges is published on the IMF SDR webpage.
  - Prior reporting period: Fund issued a comprehensive ex-post assessment report on the 2021 SDR allocation covering impact for the global economy, members’ use of the allocation, economic implications at the country level, and voluntary channeling of SDRs from economically strong members to the most vulnerable ones.

### Annex I — Prescribed holders of SDRs (current list of twenty prescribed holders)
- African Development Bank (AFDB)
- African Development Fund (AFDF)
- Arab Monetary Fund (AMF)
- Asian Development Bank (ADB)
- Bank for International Settlements (BIS)
- Bank of Central African States (BEAC)
- Caribbean Development Bank (CDB)
- Central Bank of West African States (BCEAO)
- Development Bank of Latin America (Corporacion Andina de Fomento or CAF)
- Eastern Caribbean Central Bank (ECCB)
- European Central Bank (ECB)
- European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD)
- European Investment Bank (EIB)
- Inter-American Development Bank (IADB)
- International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD)
- International Development Association (IDA)
- International Fund for Agricultural Development
- Islamic Development Bank
- Latin American Reserve Fund (FLAR) - Former Andean Reserve Fund
- Nordic Investment Bank

*International Monetary Fund — Annual Update on SDR Trading Operations, September 18, 2024.*

### EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

### EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

### Introduction and scope
- Provides an update on the status of the SDR trading market and operations for the period September 1, 2023 to August 31, 2024.
- For more than three decades, SDRs have been exchanged for freely usable currencies in transactions by agreement, primarily through Voluntary Trading Arrangements (VTAs). A small fraction of transactions by agreement has been arranged directly between parties.
- VTAs are bilateral arrangements between the Fund and SDR department participants or prescribed holders, in which the VTA participants agree to buy and sell SDRs within certain limits.
- The paper covers SDR trading operations during the period September 2023 to August 2024 and provides data and trends for the past 12 months and the last five years (2019–2024).

### High-level findings on SDR trading volumes and transactions
- From September 2023 to August 2024:
  - SDR 13.5 billion were sold through the VTA market (97 SDR sales transactions).
  - Of the SDR 13.5 billion sold:
    - SDR 7.3 billion were exchanged by 25 participants into currencies.
    - SDR 5.4 billion were sold by the Poverty Reduction and Growth Trust (PRGT) and the Resilience and Sustainability Trust (RST) for liquidity management and to facilitate the investment of SDR contributions.
  - SDR acquisitions totaled SDR 6.9 billion across 243 acquisitions.
- Comparison with the prior 12-month period (September 2022–August 2023):
  - Sales decreased from SDR 17.9 billion (140 sales) to SDR 13.5 billion (97 sales).
  - Acquisitions increased from SDR 5.3 billion (195 transactions) to SDR 6.9 billion (243 transactions).

### SDR Sales through VTAs — drivers and composition
- The decline in number and volume of SDR sales through VTAs reflects:
  - A decrease in outright sales by participants from SDR 9.8 billion to SDR 4.7 billion.
  - A decrease in SDR contributions by the Trusts converted into currencies from SDR 8.0 billion to SDR 5.4 billion.
  - An increase in sales of SDRs by borrowing members who received SDRs in GRA purchases or PRGT/RST loans from SDR 0.1 billion to SDR 3.4 billion.
- Cumulative conversions since the 2021 SDR allocation:
  - The VTA market has supported the conversion of SDR 50.5 billion into currencies:
    - SDR 34.2 billion by 74 SDR department participants.
    - SDR 13.7 billion by the Trusts.
    - SDR 2.6 billion by prescribed holders.
- Participant sales characteristics for the reporting period:
  - All participant sales were made by Emerging Markets and Developing countries (EMDCs).
  - 25 participants sold SDR 7.3 billion through VTAs.
  - Individual sale requests ranged from SDR 1 million to SDR 822 million.
  - Low Income Countries (LICs) accounted for 29 percent of the total SDR sales volume.
  - Average of SDR 606 million per month in sales during September 2023–August 2024 (compared to an average of SDR 740 million in the preceding 12-month period).
- Cumulative since January 2019:
  - SDR sales totaled SDR 57.4 billion across 489 transactions with an average size of SDR 117.3 million, made by 79 SDR participants and 6 prescribed holders.

### SDR conversions by IMF-administered Trusts
- To support investment of SDR contributions, the Trusts converted SDR 5.4 billion into currencies through the VTA market in the reporting period (about 40 percent of total SDR sales volume).
- This level of conversions by the Trusts (exchanges by the Trusts amounted to about 43 percent of the total sales volume) is expected to continue in the near term as members fulfill commitments to increase resources to the PRGT and RST.

### SDR transactions by prescribed holders
- In the reporting period, prescribed holders exchanged a total of SDR 0.8 billion compared with SDR 1.0 billion in the previous reporting period.
- Prescribed holders’ SDR holdings remain modest at SDR 2.1 billion (about 0.3 percent of total SDR holdings).

### Acquisitions of SDRs through VTAs and GRA — drivers and trends
- Reporting period acquisitions (September 2023–August 2024):
  - 243 acquisitions amounting to SDR 6.9 billion (compared to 195 transactions for SDR 5.3 billion in the previous 12 months).
- Primary factors for the increase in acquisitions:
  - Participant requests to replenish SDR holdings to cover charges to the IMF, reflecting the elevated SDR interest rate environment:
    - Daily average SDR interest rate was 4.082 percent, compared to the average of 3.234 percent in the preceding 12-month period.
    - Acquisitions from the GRA to cover charges increased from SDR 2,051 million to SDR 2,131 million during the 12-month period.
  - Contributions in currencies to the Administered Account for Ukraine needed to be converted into SDRs, totaling about SDR 1.1 billion (compared with SDR 1.7 billion in the prior reporting period).
- Cumulative purchases since January 2019:
  - The Fund assisted 80 participants and 2 prescribed holders in over 600 purchase transactions through VTAs amounting to SDR 12.8 billion.
  - A total of 216 purchase transactions (SDR 5.7 billion) were handled through the GRA.

### SDR holdings and participant vulnerability
- Number of participants with low SDR holdings:
  - There are currently 40 participants with SDR holdings of less than five percent of their cumulative allocation, compared to 33 participants at end-August 2023.
- Policy emphasis:
  - Participants are strongly encouraged to proactively manage SDR balances to ensure sufficient SDRs to meet upcoming obligations to the IMF payable in SDRs.
  - This is particularly important in a high interest rate environment where charges on SDR-denominated obligations are expected to increase over time.
- IMF staff actions:
  - Staff will continue to monitor SDR balances and prompt participants to ensure timely acquisition of SDRs.

### Voluntary Trading Arrangements (VTAs) capacity and participation
- Number of VTA participants:
  - Increased from 40 to 41 during the reporting period with Qatar successfully onboarded as a new VTA participant.
  - Since the 2021 allocation, nine new VTA participants have been onboarded: Algeria, Brazil, Estonia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Mauritius, Oman, Qatar, and Singapore.
  - Since the 2021 allocation, 40 VTAs have been used.
- Buying and selling capacities of VTAs as of August 31, 2024:
  - Buying capacity: about SDR 202 billion.
  - Selling capacity: SDR 172 billion.
  - Comparison with prior year: prior year capacities were SDR 208 billion (buying) and SDR 165 billion (selling).
- VTAs continue to have ample capacities to meet demand for exchange of SDRs into currencies.
- VTAs consider minimum and maximum SDR amounts that a VTA participant is willing to hold and the actual SDR holdings of each VTA participant.
- VTAs have remained responsive to requests by staff for operational flexibilities when needed.
- Discussions with potential new entrants continue in the broader context of SDR channeling, which involves a strong expectation that contributors have VTAs.

### Data coverage, publication and administrative notes
- Annual reporting period for SDR transactions for this paper is September 1, 2023 to August 31, 2024; cumulative period is January 1, 2019 to August 31, 2024.
- The paper proposes publication and was prepared by the Finance Department (Jane Mburu, Veerayudh Bunsoong, Katherine Pan and Lois Adjei under the guidance of Andreas Bauer), in consultation with the Legal Department. Approved by Bernard Lauwers.
- The paper includes figures and tables documenting monthly and annual SDR sales and acquisitions, VTA capacities, distribution of holdings, and summaries of transactions (see listed figures and tables in the document).

*International Monetary Fund — Annual Update on SDR Trading Operations, September 18, 2024.*

### 11.      While most transactions are channeled through VTAs, SDR transactions can also be

### 11. While most transactions are channeled through VTAs, SDR transactions can also be

### Bilateral SDR transactions: recent activity and cumulative totals
- In the current period, there were 34 bilateral transactions in the amount of SDR 0.8 billion.
- The average annual amount over the last five years was SDR 0.5   billion.
- These bilateral transactions primarily relate to the settlement of financial obligations between counterparties or between participants and their regional central banks.
- The volume increase in 2023 was mainly due to the extension of an SDR loan between participants, which was fully settled in SDRs within the same period.
- Cumulatively since 2019, 204 bilateral transactions have been conducted in the amount of SDR 3.5 billion (Table 3).

- Table 3 (summary figures, January 1, 2019–August 31, 2024; in millions of SDRs):
  - Number of Transactions by year: 2019: 30; 2020: 32; 2021: 36; 2022: 36; 2023: 45; Jan-Aug 2023: 25; Total 2019–Aug 2024: 204; Sep 2022–Aug 2023: 45; Sep 2023–Aug 2024: 34.
  - Amount by year: 2019: 26; 2020: 41; 2021: 376; 2022: 463; 2023: 1,794; Jan-Aug 2023: 779; Total 2019–Aug 2024: 3,480; Sep 2022–Aug 2023: 1,804; Sep 2023–Aug 2024: 794.

### New authorized use of SDRs for acquisition of hybrid capital instruments
- On May 10, 2024, the IMF’s Executive Board authorized the use of SDRs by IMF members for the acquisition of hybrid capital instruments issued by prescribed holders.
- The new use of SDRs is subject to a cumulative limit of SDR 15 billion.
- There is a strong expectation that participants channeling SDRs to prescribed holders under such capital contributions have VTAs in place to ensure sufficient liquidity and equitable distribution of potential SDR exchanges into currencies in the VTA market.
- In the current period, there have been no requests by participants to use SDRs to acquire hybrid capital instruments from prescribed holders.

### Voluntary Trading Arrangements (VTAs): aggregate capacities and market functioning
- VTA aggregate purchasing capacity at end-August 2024: about SDR 202 billion.
- VTA aggregate selling capacity at end-August 2024: about SDR 172 billion.
- These capacities reflected updated trading ranges of VTAs, cumulative effect of absorption of SDR sales by VTAs, and additional capacity from new VTAs joining the market.
- The robust trading capacities and broad regional representation of the VTAs are expected to support the continued smooth functioning of the SDR market.

- Table 4 (VTAs: trading ranges and average capacities, as of August 31, 2024; in millions of SDRs, unless otherwise indicated):
  - Arrangements / Trading Range (In percent of Net Cumulative Allocations) / Number / Purchasing Capacity / Average Purchasing Capacity / Selling Capacity / Average Selling Capacity
  - Standard / 50 – 150 / 145 / 6,747 / 4,053 / 70,039 / 5,003
  - Eurosystem¹ / 65 – 135 / 19 / 60,837 / 3,202 / 66,198 / 3,484
  - Other various ranges / 25 – 200 / 88 / 4,205 / 10,526 / 35,812 / 4,477
  - Total / 41 / 201,790 / 4,922 / 172,050 / 4,196
  - ¹ Two non-euro system participants have adopted this range. Includes the nominal trading range for the ECB, a prescribed holder of SDRs, that adds to the euro area trading capacity.

### Criteria and modalities for distributing sale and purchase requests across VTAs
- Staff considers a range of criteria to ensure equitable use over time, including:
  - The relative dispersion of SDR holdings across VTAs, based on the ratio of SDR holdings-to-allocation of individual VTAs.
  - The scope of VTAs to absorb a given transaction, determined by deviation of SDR holdings from the mid-point of a VTA trading range.
  - Other considerations: relative use of each VTA as a share of allocation of total VTAs, individual transaction and counterparty limits, currency preferences, notification periods and holidays, and the need to split large requests among multiple VTAs.
- The modalities have been successful in spreading SDR transactions across VTAs:
  - In the reporting period, 40 (out of 41) VTAs were utilized.
  - Each VTA participated on average in 7 SDR trades (Table 5).
  - SDR holdings of VTA participants are clustered tightly around the median holdings-to-allocation ratio of 104.0 percent.
  - The SDR holdings-to-allocation ratio of VTA participants increased on average by about 0.6 percentage points during the reporting period (and cumulative by 4.9 percentage points since the SDR allocation).

### VTA participation, trading by region, and transaction volumes (September 1, 2023–August 31, 2024)
- SDR Sales (Region-level summary):
  - Total VTAs available: 41; VTAs used: 30; Number of Sales: 97; Amount of SDR Sales (millions): 13,467; Percent of Sales: 100; Percent by Purchasing Capacity: 100.
  - Africa: Number of VTAs Available 1; Number of VTAs Used 2; Number of Sales 14; Amount of SDR Sales 0; Percent of Sales 0.
  - Asia and Pacific: Number of VTAs Available 6; Number of VTAs Used 6; Number of Sales 26; Amount of SDR Sales 4,790; Percent of Sales 36; Percent by Purchasing Capacity 31.
  - Europe: Number of VTAs Available 25; Number of VTAs Used 16; Number of Sales 37; Amount of SDR Sales 4,184; Percent of Sales 31; Percent by Purchasing Capacity 34.
  - Middle East & Central Asia: Number of VTAs Available 4; Number of VTAs Used 2; Number of Sales 9; Amount of SDR Sales 115; Percent of Sales 1; Percent by Purchasing Capacity 4.
  - Western Hemisphere: Number of VTAs Available 5; Number of VTAs Used 5; Number of Sales 23; Amount of SDR Sales 4,364; Percent of Sales 32; Percent by Purchasing Capacity 31.

- SDR Acquisitions (Region-level summary):
  - Total VTAs available: 41; VTAs used: 33; Number of Acquisitions: 179; Amount of SDR Acquisitions (millions): 4,776; Percent of Acquisitions: 100; Percent by Selling Capacity: 100.
  - Africa: Number of VTAs Available 1; Number of VTAs Used 1; Number of Acquisitions 6; Amount of SDR Acquisitions 8; Percent of Acquisitions 0; Percent by Selling Capacity 0.
  - Asia and Pacific: Number of VTAs Available 6; Number of VTAs Used 4; Number of Acquisitions 33; Amount of SDR Acquisitions 726; Percent of Acquisitions 15; Percent by Selling Capacity 25.
  - Europe: Number of VTAs Available 25; Number of VTAs Used 21; Number of Acquisitions 95; Amount of SDR Acquisitions 2,730; Percent of Acquisitions 57; Percent by Selling Capacity 51.
  - Middle East & Central Asia: Number of VTAs Available 4; Number of VTAs Used 3; Number of Acquisitions 15; Amount of SDR Acquisitions 75; Percent of Acquisitions 2; Percent by Selling Capacity 4.
  - Western Hemisphere: Number of VTAs Available 5; Number of VTAs Used 4; Number of Acquisitions 30; Amount of SDR Acquisitions 1,237; Percent of Acquisitions 26; Percent by Selling Capacity 20.

### SDR reporting and published information
- The Fund continues to publish a wide range of information about the SDR and its uses.
- The IMF’s annual and quarterly financial reports include holdings and allocations by participants and holdings by prescribed holders and aggregate data about SDR flows.
- Quarterly financial reports include net changes in individual participants’ SDR holdings split into categories: (i) IMF operations; and (ii) SDR trading and other uses.
- The IMF Finances webpage publishes monthly information on SDR holdings and allocations of participants.
- The periodic IMF Financial Operations publication provides extensive information on the functioning of the voluntary SDR trading market, including operating modalities, capacity, trading by region, and aggregate transaction volumes.
- Information on SDR channeling pledges and delivery of these pledges is published on the IMF SDR webpage.
- In the prior reporting period, the Fund issued a comprehensive ex-post assessment report on the 2021 SDR allocation, covering impact for the global economy, members’ use of the allocation, economic implications at the country level, and voluntary channeling of SDRs from economically strong members to the most vulnerable ones.

### Annex I — Prescribed holders of SDRs (current list of twenty prescribed holders)
- African Development Bank (AFDB)
- African Development Fund (AFDF)
- Arab Monetary Fund (AMF)
- Asian Development Bank (ADB)
- Bank for International Settlements (BIS)
- Bank of Central African States (BEAC)
- Caribbean Development Bank (CDB)
- Central Bank of West African States (BCEAO)
- Development Bank of Latin America (Corporacion Andina de Fomento or CAF)
- Eastern Caribbean Central Bank (ECCB)
- European Central Bank (ECB)
- European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD)
- European Investment Bank (EIB)
- Inter-American Development Bank (IADB)
- International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD)
- International Development Association (IDA)
- International Fund for Agricultural Development
- Islamic Development Bank
- Latin American Reserve Fund (FLAR) - Former Andean Reserve Fund
- Nordic Investment Bank

*Source: IMF staff calculations and text from the provided content unit.*

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_Source: https://www.imf.org/-/media/files/publications/pp/2024/english/ppea2024043.pdf_