## DIRIYAH GUIDING PRINCIPLES ON IMF QUOTA AND GOVERNANCE REFORMS ## Source details **Canonical URL:** [DIRIYAH GUIDING PRINCIPLES ON IMF QUOTA AND GOVERNANCE REFORMS](https://www.imf.org/-/media/files/publications/pp/2026/english/ppea2026013.pdf) ## Other formats - [Markdown version](/-/media/files/publications/pp/2026/english/ppea2026013.pdf.md) - [Structured JSON version](/-/media/files/publications/pp/2026/english/ppea2026013.pdf.json) --- ### Report context and procedural notes - Report completed on April 1, 2026, for the Executive Board’s consideration on April 6, 2026, following the call from the April 2025 Diriyah Declaration referred to in the Spring 2025 and Fall 2025 IMFC Chair’s Statements. - The IMF’s transparency policy allows for the deletion of market-sensitive information and premature disclosure of the authorities’ policy intentions in published reports and other documents. - Electronic copies of IMF Policy Papers are available to the public from http://www.imf.org/external/pp/ppindex.aspx - International Monetary Fund, Washington, D.C., April 30, 2026. ### Preamble: framing and mandates - A strong, inclusive, and representative governance framework is fundamental to maintaining the IMF’s credibility and legitimacy among its diverse membership. - The IMF is a quota-based institution. Quotas determine members’ mandatory contributions to the Fund’s financial resources; together with basic votes, they determine members’ voting power; they guide decisions on members’ access to IMF resources; and they determine a member’s share in a general SDR allocation. - Voluntary financial contributions also play a role in providing financial resources to the IMF. - As per Article III, section 2 (a) of the IMF’s Articles of Agreement, “the Board of Governors shall at intervals of not more than five years conduct a general review, and if it deems it appropriate propose an adjustment, of the quotas of the members”. - The current quota formula was agreed in 2008. - The January 2013 Report of the Executive Board to the Board of Governors on the Outcome of the Quota Formula Review reaffirmed the four principles underpinning the 2008 quota formula, namely that “the quota formula should be simple and transparent, consistent with the multiple roles of quotas, produce results that are broadly acceptable to the membership, and be feasible to implement statistically based on timely, high quality and widely available data”. - Views differ at this time on whether the 2008 formula still meets all these principles. The membership has agreed to work to develop a new quota formula. - The April 2025 Diriyah Declaration emphasized that progress toward consensus on quota and governance reforms should be made in stages and, as a first step, called on the Executive Board to develop a set of general principles to help foster convergence of views. In response to this call, the following principles have been developed to guide future discussions on quota and governance reforms, including under the 17th GRQ and beyond. ### Guiding principles (numbered) - 1. The IMF must remain a strong, quota-based, and adequately resourced institution at the center of the global financial safety net (GFSN). - 2. Voice and representation at the IMF entail both rights and responsibilities, including the commitment to and the effective support of the IMF, and the promotion of its purposes as set out in the IMF’s Articles of Agreement. - 3. Quota and governance reforms should support the IMF’s legitimacy, representativeness, and effectiveness, financial and operational soundness, and ability to promote consensus and cooperation among the membership while ensuring efficient deliberations and decision-making processes. - 4. Quota and governance reforms should be pragmatic, gradual, transparent, inclusive, widely acceptable, and reflective of the interests of the entire membership. Discussions and decisions on quota and governance reforms should remain firmly anchored in IMF governing bodies. - 5. General reviews of quotas provide an opportunity to review the adequacy of Fund resources and the distribution of quota shares among members. Adjustments to overall quotas must ensure that the level and the composition of the resources available to the IMF enable the Fund to fulfill its mandate and meet the needs of its members. Adjustments to quota shares should continue to be guided by quota formulas underpinned by the four principles agreed in 2008, in conjunction with other considerations deemed relevant by the membership; better reflect members’ relative positions in the world economy, which should reduce representation gaps, while protecting the quota shares of the poorest members; and be conducted in a regular and timely manner while avoiding excessive change—whether increases or decreases—in individual members’ quota shares in any single review. - 6. Any evolution in the size and composition of the Executive Board and the IMFC should ensure regional balance and protect the representation of the poorest members. The 2025 Executive Board and IMFC should serve as a baseline reference. - 7. The selection process of the Managing Director should uphold an open, inclusive, merit-based, and transparent procedure. - 8. All quota and governance-related commitments arising from completed reviews and agreed reforms should be implemented by all members in a timely manner. *International Monetary Fund, April 30, 2026.* --- _Source: https://www.imf.org/-/media/files/publications/pp/2026/english/ppea2026013.pdf_