## Policy priorities. The Managing Director’s Global Policy Agenda (GPA) presented

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---

### Overview and purpose
- GPA presented to the IMFC in April identified actions to:
  - bolster today’s actual and tomorrow’s potential output;
  - diminish risks; and
  - confront emerging global challenges.
- Key action areas:
  - Calibrating fiscal adjustment to economic conditions while establishing credible long-term fiscal frameworks and implementing growth-friendly fiscal policies.
  - Improving monetary policy effectiveness while containing excessive financial risk-taking.
  - Accelerating structural reforms to raise growth potential and ensure inclusiveness.
- Fund support through assessments and policy advice in multilateral and bilateral surveillance, financial support, and capacity building.
- Figure referenced: Summary of Policy Priorities Going Forward (Source: Spring 2015 Global Policy Agenda).

### Spring 2015 Work Program (next 12 months)
- Translates GPA and IMFC communiqué into a Board work agenda over the next 12 months.
- Multilateral-scope Board engagements include:
  - Quota reform and resources.
  - The SDR basket review.
  - Challenges facing the international monetary system.
  - The post-2015 global development agenda.
- Includes several items from the action plan of the 2014 Triennial Surveillance Review (TSR).

### Implementation of the past work program
- Fall 2014 Work Program implemented broadly as planned.
- Additional Executive Board meetings on Ebola response and UN conferences on financing sustainable development.
- Informal meetings scheduled ahead of formal discussions for some major items.
- Most policy meetings concluded on schedule; some delays due to need for more consultations and competing work pressures.

### Projected workload and streamlining (Box 1)
- Executive Board workload over the next 12 months expected to be broadly comparable to Fall 2014 Work Program.
- Streamlining initiatives to redirect resources to high priority tasks and reduce over time demands:
  - Fewer program reviews by applying the presumption of semi-annual reviews for GRA arrangements.
  - Ex-post Assessments (EPA) abolished at the end of the year and replaced by a succinct, peer-reviewed assessment in staff reports requesting a new program or the Article IV consultation following program completion.
  - World Economic and Markets Updates streamlined by narrowing country coverage to focus on systemic economies; further efficiencies to be considered as the global economy returns to normal.
  - Periodicity for most policy reviews lengthened to five years and for most moved to an “as needed” basis. Six to twelve months prior to a scheduled review, staff will assess whether the review is warranted and bring its assessment to the Board in the Work Program discussion.
  - Some policy reviews will be merged; periodic Fund reports and operational reviews will be streamlined and periodicity lengthened.
- Initial savings via postponement or discontinuation of items:
  - Review of the Policy Support Instrument (previously due in 2015) incorporated into the next Review of Fund’s Facilities for Low-Income Countries due in 2018.
  - Annual report on Long-Term Program Engagement discontinued.
  - Periodic reports on Delayed Article IV Consultations, Overdue Financial Obligations, Financing of the Fund’s Concessional Assistance, and Status of Voluntary SDR Trading Arrangements and SDR Designation Plan to occur at lower frequencies.
- Full impact on the Board calendar to occur over time.

### I. Conjuncture and risks
- Global growth remains uneven; prospects of a new mediocre persist; risks to the outlook are to the downside.
- Common challenges:
  - supporting demand;
  - removing structural impediments;
  - navigating sharp exchange rate movements;
  - financial market turbulence; and
  - low inflation or deflation in some advanced economies.
- GPA role and meetings:
  - GPA to engage the IMFC, review policy implementation, identify upcoming policy challenges, and synthesize key policy messages from bilateral and multilateral surveillance (including the External Sector Report and the Spillover Report).
  - Global conjuncture and risks to be discussed ahead of Annual and Spring Meetings in joint Board sessions of the WEO, GFSR, and Fiscal Monitor in September 2015 and April 2016, with WEMD Updates in July and January.
  - Formal discussion on Macroeconomic Developments in Low-Income Developing Countries scheduled for November 2015.
  - Spillover Report scheduled for June 2015 to examine spillovers from asynchronous monetary policy (including strengthening of the U.S. dollar), sharp currency movements, recent oil price developments, and potential spillovers from low inflation or deflation in key economies.
  - Early Warning Exercise to be discussed in the run-up to the Annual and Spring Meetings.
  - Area departments to continue regular regional briefings to the Board.
  - Engagement with small states: outreach following March 2015 Board discussion; country teams to undertake analytical work on small states’ challenges.
  - Engagement with fragile states: pilot approach to support fragile states using a capacity building framework to be rolled out in the coming year; protection of priority social spending strengthened in programs; explore options to expand fragile states’ access to concessional financing (see ¶12).

### II. Addressing policy challenges

H3 A. Fiscal Policy
- Goal: Support growth within credible policy frameworks while placing debt on a sustainable path.
- Fund assistance: policy advice, technical assistance, and training to develop and calibrate fiscal packages that support short- and long-term growth, reduce public debt overhangs, and strengthen fiscal institutional frameworks.
- Specific deliverables and analytical work:
  - Fiscal Anchors and Policy Frameworks (January 2016) to brief Board on medium- and long-term fiscal policy anchors and best practices in managing fiscal risks.
  - Analytical work on broad aspects of fiscal frameworks in Africa, public financial management in Latin America, and fiscal consequences of aging populations.
  - Fall 2015 Fiscal Monitor to review resource-rich country experiences during commodity price swings and examine strengthening fiscal policy and institutions to manage commodity price volatility.
  - Fiscal Policy and Long-Term Growth (now in June 2015) to explore links between expenditure and revenue reforms and long-term growth.
  - Briefing on Making Public Investment More Efficient (now planned for June 2015) to assess trends in public infrastructure quality and public investment framework reforms.
  - Report on Options for Low-Income Countries’ Efficient and Effective Use of Tax Incentives (October 2015), joint work with OECD, United Nations, and World Bank.
  - Informal session on Public Sector Compensation and Employment (March 2016).
  - Other work on energy tax and subsidy reforms and international issues in fiscal regimes for extractive industries.

H3 B. Monetary, Macroprudential, and Exchange Rate Policies
- Varying monetary policy challenges:
  - Advanced economies: accommodative policy should continue given weak growth and below-target inflation; in a few countries managing expectations on normalization will be critical.
  - Emerging market economies: many have eased policies amid lower growth but must remain vigilant toward spillovers via capital flows and exchange rate volatility.
  - LIDCs: focus on strengthening policy frameworks, allowing more exchange rate flexibility when applicable, and managing foreign currency exposure.
- Key items and timing:
  - Informal session on Monetary Policy and Financial Stability (September 2015).
  - Briefing on Evolving Monetary Policy Frameworks in Low-Income and Other Developing Countries (now in October 2015).
  - GFSR chapter to analyze determinants of market liquidity and assess whether regulatory/technological changes make market liquidity more pro-cyclical.
  - External Sector Report (scheduled for July 2015) to deliver multilaterally consistent assessments of external positions of larger economies.
    - EBA methodology being applied to more countries; assessments in Article IV consultations using a broader set of indicators than just exchange rates.
    - EBA-lite reference note to be issued for Board information in December 2015.
  - Guidance note on implementation of agreed innovations and modifications of the framework for assessing reserve adequacy to be issued for Board information in October 2015.
  - Data on emerging market reserve adequacy metrics (traditional and Fund-created) to be made public by mid-year.
  - Macroprudential policy focus:
    - embed macroprudential policy advice into bilateral surveillance and capacity building;
    - investigate macroprudential policies for non-banks;
    - continue work on capital flow management (CFM) and macroprudential measures (MPMs), including a joint update with the OECD to the G20 in September on measures that are both CFMs and MPMs.

H3 C. Financial Sector Policies
- Objectives: Address risks, enhance inclusion, deepen macro-financial analysis, support financial stability, and strengthen financial inclusion and supervision.
- Priorities and outputs:
  - Board briefings in June and December 2015 on progress in regulatory environment for banks, insurers, and other financial institutions; June briefing to take stock of post-crisis market environment and macroeconomic implications.
  - Financial stability: Board will discuss linkages between financial stability and monetary policies (¶7).
  - FSAP: second round of mandatory stability assessments underway; assessment for the United States to be discussed in July and several others set to start this year.
    - Discussions with the European Central Bank and the Single Supervisory Mechanism on principles/procedures for FSAP assessments of euro area countries.
    - Strong demand for FSAP assessments from jurisdictions not subject to mandatory assessments.
    - Follow-up on the 2014 FSAP Review ongoing, including steps to strengthen analytical foundations of Financial Sector Stability Analyses.
  - Macro-financial analysis:
    - Mainstreaming Macro-Financial Surveillance briefing in October 2015 (TSR follow-up).
    - Balance Sheet Analysis in Fund Surveillance discussion in June 2015.
    - Briefings in July 2015 on Financial Integration in Central America, Panama, and the Dominican Republic (CAPDR), and Colombia.
    - Briefing on The Future of Asia’s Finance scheduled for November 2015.
  - Financial inclusion:
    - Board briefing on Financial Inclusion—Can it Meet Multiple Goals? (September 2015).
  - Islamic Finance (IF):
    - Interdepartmental group to assess IF implications for macro-financial stability, regulation and supervision, monetary policy, and access to finance.
    - Fund to co-host a global conference on IF in November 2015.
  - Data gaps:
    - Continue active role addressing data deficiencies.
    - Sixth progress report on the G-20 Data Gaps Initiative to be provided to the Board for information in September 2015 and will include a proposal for a second phase.

H3 D. Structural Reforms
- Imperative: Decisively-implemented structural reforms urgently needed to lift potential output and ensure inclusiveness.
- Board engagement and analytical work:
  - Structural Reforms Across the Membership (September 2015) to take stock of structural reform issues (TSR follow-up).
  - Work on impact of trade and FDI liberalization on growth and complementarities with other structural reforms.
  - Staff Discussion Note (SDN) for the Middle East and Central Asia on policies to strengthen potential growth.
  - Analytical work on structural reform governance framework in the European Union.
  - Jobs, growth, efficiency, and inclusion topics addressed via Fiscal Policy and Long-Term Growth, public investment, and financial inclusion papers (¶6, ¶8).
  - Reference note on trade to be circulated for Board information in January 2016.
  - Ongoing efforts to operationalize the Guidance Note on Jobs and Growth Issues.
  - Upcoming Article IV consultations to feature work on inequality, gender issues (including female labor force participation), energy pricing, and climate change where relevant.

*Source: Spring 2015 Work Program and the Managing Director’s Global Policy Agenda (GPA) as presented to the IMFC in April.*

### 10. Lending framework

### Continued financial support and framework goals
- Fund to continue providing financial support, including on a precautionary basis, for appropriate adjustments and reforms, and to help protect against the risks facing the membership.
- Objective: maintain sufficient availability of resources for crisis prevention and resolution within a sound and even-handed lending framework.
- Board to consider items to ensure the Fund’s lending framework remains in tune with members’ needs.

### Low-income countries and concessional financing
- Board to discuss Reform of Fund Policies on Poverty Reduction Strategies in Fund Engagement with Low-Income Countries—Proposals and Options (now planned for June 2015), proposing adjustments to requirements for Poverty Reduction Strategy Papers in engagement with LICs.
- Biennial review of Eligibility to Use the Fund's Facilities for Concessional Financing (now planned for July 2015).
- Enhancing the Financial Safety Net for Developing Countries (see ¶12) to be addressed.

### Resource availability and ex-post reviews
- Crisis Program Review (now planned for November 2015) to distill lessons from Fund arrangements during the global financial crisis.
- Strengthening the Post-Program Monitoring Framework (November 2015) to present a proposal to revise the policy for participation in Post-Program Monitoring.
- Timing of a follow-up Board meeting on access limits and surcharges to be determined, taking into account progress in making effective the 14th General Review of Quotas.

### Debt sustainability and restructuring
- Follow-up meeting on the Fund's lending framework in the context of sovereign debt vulnerabilities (now planned for later this year) to discuss specific proposals for modification of the exceptional access framework.
- Formal discussion on the Progress Report on the Inclusion of Enhanced Contractual Provisions in International Sovereign Bonds in September 2015.
- Paper Debt Vulnerabilities in LICs: The Evolving Landscape (November 2015) to brief the Board on debt-related developments and vulnerabilities in LICs; upcoming review of the LIC debt sustainability framework will build on this analysis.
- Staff work on Official Sector Involvement and Lending Into Arrears Policy (March 2016, preceded by an informal session to engage in November 2015) to:
  - clarify the framework for official sector involvement taking into account the growing role of non-Paris Club creditors; and
  - review the effectiveness of the lending into arrears policy in light of recent experience and the increased complexity of the creditor base.

### IV. New Multilateralism — Working together for the future
- Objective: secure a more sustainable future via cooperative solutions to ensure Fund governance reflects the makeup of the world economy, enhance resilience of the international monetary system, and advance the global development agenda.

### International monetary system (IMS)
- Paper Strengthening the International Monetary System: Taking Stock and Looking Ahead (October 2015) to provide an overview of IMS challenges and engage the Board on areas for further work.
- Quinquennial Review of Valuation of the SDR (November 2015; informal briefing and engagement of the Board in June and July) to assess currency composition of the SDR basket.

### Governance and resources
- Earliest implementation of the 2010 Quota and Governance reforms is highest priority to preserve the quota-based nature of the IMF.
- Board to discuss a draft report to the Board of Governors on this topic in June.
- Board to consider an update of the quota database in July.
- Timing of work on the 15th General Review of Quotas and on a new quota formula to be determined, taking into account progress made in ratifying the 2010 reforms.
- The case for a further one-year extension of the 2012 Borrowing Agreements and a review of the current borrowing guidelines to be discussed in July.

### Facilitating Sustainable Development
- Board to discuss Revisiting the Monterrey Consensus in July.
- Enhancing the Financial Safety Net for Developing Countries (discussed by the Board in July) to contain proposals to expand access to concessional financing for the Fund’s poorest and most vulnerable members and enhance provision of rapid support to countries hit by natural disasters and affected by conflict, subject to maintaining self-sustaining financing of the Poverty Reduction and Growth Trust.
- Board engagement on The Fund’s Work on Climate Change in September, followed by formal discussion on The Managing Director’s Statement on Climate Change in November ahead of the UNFCCC COP21 in Paris in December.
- Sustainable development aspects also addressed in an SDN on macroeconomic aspects of water challenges and a conference in July on carbon pricing and the environment.

### V. Strengthening the Fund — Adapting as an institution
- Continue to evolve by implementing recommendations of past reviews such as the TSR, learning from past experience and outside evaluations, and deploying internal resources in line with emerging priorities.
- Staff to share updates of relevant analytical work such as SDNs with the Board on an ongoing basis.

### TSR implementation
- Paper Evenhandedness at the Fund—Principles and Reporting Mechanism (November 2015) to establish understanding of evenhandedness of surveillance based on “inputs” and a mechanism for authorities to report concerns as recommended in the 2014 TSR.
- Critical initiatives to implement key TSR recommendations on external sector assessment (¶7), macro-financial surveillance (¶8), and structural reforms (¶9).

### Policy reviews
- Review of the Fund’s Framework for Addressing Excessive Delays of Article IV Consultations to be taken forward; timing to be determined.
- Board discussion of Safeguards Assessments—Review of Experience (October 2015).
- Board briefed on Implementation of the IMF Communications Strategy in November 2015.
- Review of Standards and Codes Initiative (April 2016), a five-yearly joint review with the World Bank focusing on the macro-financial approach to supervisory standards assessments per the 2014 FSAP review.

### Risk management
- The Risk Management Unit to present the 2015 Report on Risk Management (July 2015).

### Independent Evaluation Office (IEO)
- Evaluations carried over from the Fall WP:
  - Self-Evaluation at the IMF: Learning from Experience (now planned for August 2015).
  - Statistics for Global Economic and Financial Stability: The Role of the IMF (now planned for October 2015).
- New study The Euro Crisis: The IMF’s Response planned for Board discussion in December 2015.
- Management implementation plans to be prepared for IEO reviews on:
  - IMF Forecasts: Process, Quality, and Country Perspectives;
  - IMF Response to the Financial and Economic Crisis; and
  - Recurring Issues from a Decade of Evaluation: Lessons for the IMF.

### Budget, finances, risk, and audit
- Discussions on the FY2017–2019 Medium-Term Budget to begin in November 2015 with a committee briefing on budget strategy.
- Committee session to engage the Board on initial proposals for the FY2017–2019 budget in February 2016.
- Formal Board meeting on the budget in April 2016, together with the review of the Fund’s Income Position for FY2016 and FY2017–18 and after the review of staff compensation in March (¶15).
- Board discussion of the Review of the Fund’s Precautionary Balances in February 2016.
- Review of the Fixed Income Investment Account—Further Considerations to be discussed in August 2015.
- External Audit Committee to provide audit oversight through regular briefings (July 2015 and January 2016).

### Managing human resources
- 2015 Diversity and Inclusion Annual Report to be discussed in November 2015; review initial progress toward the new 2020 diversity benchmarks and discuss inclusion and flexibility.
- December: five-yearly review of the actuarial assumptions and methods for the Staff Retirement Plan to be discussed by the Pension Committee.
- December: lessons learned from an external study of compensation practices in other organizations to be brought to the Board.
- March 2016: 2016 Review of Staff Compensation, supported by a paper on Recruitment and Retention Experience in CY2015.
- Annual review of staff compensation to be conducted before the Spring Meetings to integrate findings into the budget discussion (¶14).

*Source: IMF Spring 2015 Work Program (section 10: Lending framework and related agenda items).*

### 1.      Policy priorities. The Managing Director’s Global Policy Agenda (GPA) presented

### Policy priorities. The Managing Director’s Global Policy Agenda (GPA) presented

### Overview and purpose
- The GPA presented to the IMFC in April identified actions to bolster today’s actual and tomorrow’s potential output, diminish risks, and confront emerging global challenges.
- Key action areas included:
  - Calibrating fiscal adjustment to economic conditions while establishing credible long-term fiscal frameworks and implementing growth-friendly fiscal policies.
  - Improving monetary policy effectiveness while containing excessive financial risk-taking.
  - Accelerating structural reforms to raise growth potential and ensure inclusiveness.
- The GPA outlined Fund support through assessments and policy advice in the context of multilateral and bilateral surveillance, financial support, and capacity building.
- Figure 1: Summary of Policy Priorities Going Forward (Source: Spring 2015 Global Policy Agenda).

### Spring 2015 Work Program (next 12 months)
- Translates GPA and IMFC communiqué into a Board work agenda over the next 12 months.
- Multilateral-scope issues to be engaged by the Board include:
  - Quota reform and resources.
  - The SDR basket review.
  - Challenges facing the international monetary system.
  - The post-2015 global development agenda.
- The work program includes several items from the action plan of the 2014 Triennial Surveillance Review (TSR).

### Implementation of the past work program
- The Fall 2014 Work Program was implemented broadly as planned.
- Additional Executive Board meetings were held on the Fund’s response to the Ebola outbreak and preparations for the UN conferences on financing sustainable development.
- Informal meetings were scheduled ahead of formal discussions for some major policy items.
- Most policy meetings concluded on schedule; a few encountered delays due to the need for more consultations and competing work pressures.

### Projected workload and streamlining (Box 1)
- Executive Board workload over the next 12 months expected to be broadly comparable to Fall 2014 Work Program.
- Recently-approved streamlining initiatives aim to redirect resources to high priority tasks and reduce over time demands:
  - Fewer program reviews by applying the presumption of semi-annual reviews for GRA arrangements.
  - Ex-post Assessments (EPA) will be abolished at the end of the year and replaced by a succinct, peer-reviewed assessment of the previous program in staff reports requesting a new program or the Article IV consultation following program completion.
  - World Economic and Markets Updates will be streamlined by narrowing country coverage to focus on systemic economies; consideration of further efficiencies as the global economy returns to normal.
  - Periodicity for most policy reviews lengthened to five years and for most moved to an “as needed” basis. Six to twelve months prior to a scheduled review, staff will assess whether the review is warranted and bring its assessment to the Board in the Work Program discussion.
  - Some policy reviews will be merged; periodic Fund reports and operational reviews will be streamlined and periodicity lengthened.
- Initial savings include postponement or discontinuation of several items:
  - Review of the Policy Support Instrument, previously due in 2015, will be incorporated into the next Review of Fund’s Facilities for Low-Income Countries due in 2018.
  - The annual report on Long-Term Program Engagement will be discontinued.
  - Periodic reports on Delayed Article IV Consultations, Overdue Financial Obligations, Financing of the Fund’s Concessional Assistance, and Status of Voluntary SDR Trading Arrangements and SDR Designation Plan, among others, will occur at lower frequencies.
- Full impact of changes on the Board calendar will occur over time.

### I. Conjuncture and risks
- Global growth remains uneven; prospects of a new mediocre persist; risks to the outlook are to the downside.
- Common challenges: supporting demand, removing structural impediments, navigating sharp exchange rate movements, financial market turbulence, and low inflation or deflation in some advanced economies.
- GPA role and meetings:
  - GPA will continue to serve as a vehicle to engage the IMFC, review policy implementation, identify upcoming policy challenges, and synthesize key policy messages from bilateral and multilateral surveillance (including the External Sector Report and the Spillover Report).
  - Global conjuncture and risks will be discussed ahead of the Annual and Spring Meetings in joint Board sessions of the WEO, GFSR, and Fiscal Monitor in September 2015 and April 2016, with WEMD Updates in July and January.
  - Formal discussion on Macroeconomic Developments in Low-Income Developing Countries scheduled for November 2015.
  - Spillover Report scheduled for June 2015 to examine spillovers from asynchronous monetary policy (including strengthening of the U.S. dollar), sharp currency movements, recent oil price developments, and potential spillovers from low inflation or deflation in key economies.
  - Early Warning Exercise to be discussed in the run-up to the Annual and Spring Meetings.
  - Area departments will continue regular regional briefings to the Board.
  - Engagement with small states: outreach following March 2015 Board discussion; country teams to undertake analytical work on small states’ challenges.
  - Engagement with fragile states: pilot approach to support fragile states using a capacity building framework to be rolled out in the coming year; protection of priority social spending strengthened in programs; options to expand fragile states’ access to concessional financing will be explored (see ¶12).

### II. Addressing policy challenges
A. Fiscal Policy
- Goal: Support growth within credible policy frameworks while placing debt on a sustainable path.
- Fund assistance: policy advice, technical assistance, and training to help develop and calibrate fiscal packages supporting short- and long-term growth, reducing public debt overhangs, and strengthening fiscal institutional frameworks.
- Specific deliverables and analytical work:
  - Fiscal Anchors and Policy Frameworks (January 2016) to brief Board on medium- and long-term fiscal policy anchors and best practices in managing fiscal risks.
  - Analytical work on broad aspects of fiscal frameworks in Africa, public financial management in Latin America, and fiscal consequences of aging populations.
  - Fall 2015 Fiscal Monitor to review resource-rich country experiences during commodity price swings and examine strengthening fiscal policy and institutions to manage commodity price volatility.
  - Fiscal Policy and Long-Term Growth (now in June 2015) to explore links between expenditure and revenue reforms and long-term growth.
  - Briefing on Making Public Investment More Efficient (now planned for June 2015) to assess trends in public infrastructure quality and public investment framework reforms.
  - Report on Options for Low-Income Countries’ Efficient and Effective Use of Tax Incentives (October 2015), joint work with OECD, United Nations, and World Bank, to explore costs and benefits of investment tax incentives.
  - Informal session on Public Sector Compensation and Employment (March 2016) to evaluate trends in public spending on employee compensation and draw policy lessons.
  - Other work on energy tax and subsidy reforms (including in Gulf Cooperation Council countries) and international issues in fiscal regimes for extractive industries.

B. Monetary, Macroprudential, and Exchange Rate Policies
- Varying monetary policy challenges:
  - Advanced economies: accommodative policy should continue given weak growth and below-target inflation; in a few countries managing expectations on normalization will be critical.
  - Emerging market economies: many have eased policies amid lower growth but must remain vigilant toward spillovers via capital flows and exchange rate volatility.
  - LIDCs: focus on strengthening policy frameworks, allowing more exchange rate flexibility when applicable, and managing foreign currency exposure.
- Key items and timing:
  - Informal session on Monetary Policy and Financial Stability (September 2015) to cover channels through which monetary policy affects financial systems and policy trade-offs.
  - Briefing on Evolving Monetary Policy Frameworks in Low-Income and Other Developing Countries (now in October 2015) to examine credible, countercyclical, and forward-looking frameworks in less developed financial systems.
  - GFSR chapter to analyze determinants of market liquidity and assess whether regulatory/technological changes make market liquidity more pro-cyclical.
  - External Sector Report (scheduled for July 2015) to deliver multilaterally consistent assessments of external positions of larger economies.
    - EBA methodology being applied to more countries; assessments in Article IV consultations using a broader set of indicators than just exchange rates.
    - EBA-lite reference note to be issued for Board information in December 2015.
  - Guidance note on implementation of agreed innovations and modifications of the framework for assessing reserve adequacy to be issued for Board information in October 2015.
  - Data on emerging market reserve adequacy metrics (traditional and Fund-created) to be made public by mid-year.
  - Macroprudential policy focus:
    - Embed macroprudential policy advice into bilateral surveillance and capacity building.
    - Investigate macroprudential policies for non-banks.
    - Continue work on capital flow management (CFM) and macroprudential measures (MPMs), including a joint update with the OECD to the G20 in September on measures that are both CFMs and MPMs.

C. Financial Sector Policies
- Objectives: Address risks, enhance inclusion, deepen macro-financial analysis, support financial stability, and strengthen financial inclusion and supervision.
- Priorities and outputs:
  - Board briefings in June and December 2015 on progress in regulatory environment for banks, insurers, and other financial institutions; June briefing to take stock of post-crisis market environment and macroeconomic implications (including refocusing of global bank business models, growing importance of asset managers, and changes in bank lending and market liquidity).
  - Financial stability: Board will discuss linkages between financial stability and monetary policies (¶7).
  - FSAP: second round of mandatory stability assessments underway; assessment for the United States to be discussed in July and several others set to start this year.
    - Discussions with the European Central Bank and the Single Supervisory Mechanism on principles/procedures for FSAP assessments of euro area countries to streamline evaluation of risks.
    - Strong demand remains for FSAP assessments from jurisdictions not subject to mandatory assessments.
    - Follow-up on the 2014 FSAP Review ongoing, including steps to strengthen analytical foundations of Financial Sector Stability Analyses.
  - Macro-financial analysis:
    - Mainstreaming Macro-Financial Surveillance briefing in October 2015 to describe Fund-wide effort to strengthen macro-financial coverage in bilateral surveillance (TSR follow-up).
    - Balance Sheet Analysis in Fund Surveillance discussion in June 2015 to present existing balance sheet information and new analytical approaches.
    - Briefings in July 2015 on Financial Integration in Central America, Panama, and the Dominican Republic (CAPDR), and Colombia.
    - Briefing on The Future of Asia’s Finance scheduled for November 2015 to explore Asia’s financial sector evolution and challenges.
  - Financial inclusion:
    - Board briefing on Financial Inclusion—Can it Meet Multiple Goals? (September 2015) to assess macro-relevance and links to financial stability, growth, and inequality.
  - Islamic Finance (IF):
    - Interdepartmental group to assess IF implications for macro-financial stability, regulation and supervision, monetary policy, and access to finance.
    - Fund to co-host a global conference on IF in November 2015.
  - Data gaps:
    - Continue active role addressing data deficiencies.
    - Sixth progress report on the G-20 Data Gaps Initiative to be provided to the Board for information in September 2015 and will include a proposal for a second phase.

D. Structural Reforms
- Imperative: Decisively-implemented structural reforms are urgently needed to lift potential output and ensure inclusiveness; specific measures vary by country.
- Board engagement and analytical work:
  - Structural Reforms Across the Membership (September 2015) to take stock of structural reform issues and discuss analytical approaches to guide Fund work (TSR follow-up).
  - Work on impact of trade and FDI liberalization on growth and complementarities with other structural reforms.
  - Staff Discussion Note (SDN) for the Middle East and Central Asia on policies to strengthen potential growth.
  - Analytical work on structural reform governance framework in the European Union.
  - Jobs, growth, efficiency, and inclusion topics addressed via Fiscal Policy and Long-Term Growth, public investment, and financial inclusion papers (¶6, ¶8).
  - Reference note on trade to be circulated for Board information in January 2016.
  - Ongoing efforts to operationalize the Guidance Note on Jobs and Growth Issues.
  - Upcoming Article IV consultations to feature, where relevant, work on inequality, gender issues (including female labor force participation), energy pricing, and climate change.

*Source: Spring 2015 Work Program and the Managing Director’s Global Policy Agenda (GPA) as presented to the IMFC in April.*

### 10.      Lending framework. The Fund will continue to provide financial support, including

### 10. Lending framework

### Continued financial support and framework goals
- The Fund will continue to provide financial support, including on a precautionary basis, for appropriate adjustments and reforms, and to help protect against the risks facing the membership.
- Objective: maintain sufficient availability of resources for crisis prevention and resolution within a sound and even-handed lending framework.
- The Board will consider several items to ensure the Fund’s lending framework remains in tune with the needs of members.

### Low-income countries and concessional financing
- Board will discuss Reform of Fund Policies on Poverty Reduction Strategies in Fund Engagement with Low-Income Countries—Proposals and Options (now planned for June 2015), proposing adjustments to the requirements for Poverty Reduction Strategy Papers in the Fund’s engagement with Low-Income Countries (LICs).
- Biennial review of Eligibility to Use the Fund's Facilities for Concessional Financing (now planned for July 2015).
- Enhancing the Financial Safety Net for Developing Countries (see ¶12) to be addressed.

### Resource availability and ex-post reviews
- Crisis Program Review (now planned for November 2015) to distill lessons from Fund arrangements during the global financial crisis.
- Strengthening the Post-Program Monitoring Framework (November 2015) to present a proposal to revise the policy for participation in Post-Program Monitoring in light of recent Board discussions on streamlining.
- Timing of a follow-up Board meeting on access limits and surcharges to be determined, taking into account progress in making effective the 14th General Review of Quotas.

### Debt sustainability and restructuring
- Follow-up meeting on the Fund's lending framework in the context of sovereign debt vulnerabilities (now planned for later this year) to discuss specific proposals for modification of the exceptional access framework.
- Formal discussion on the Progress Report on the Inclusion of Enhanced Contractual Provisions in International Sovereign Bonds in September 2015.
- Paper Debt Vulnerabilities in LICs: The Evolving Landscape (November 2015) to brief the Board on debt-related developments and vulnerabilities in LICs; upcoming review of the LIC debt sustainability framework will build on this analysis.
- Staff work on Official Sector Involvement and Lending Into Arrears Policy (March 2016, preceded by an informal session to engage in November 2015) to:
  - clarify the framework for official sector involvement taking into account the growing role of non-Paris Club creditors; and
  - review the effectiveness of the lending into arrears policy in light of recent experience and the increased complexity of the creditor base.

### IV. New Multilateralism — Working together for the future
- Objective: secure a more sustainable future via cooperative solutions, particularly to ensure the Fund’s governance reflects the makeup of the world economy, enhance resilience of the international monetary system, and advance the global development agenda.

### International monetary system (IMS)
- Paper Strengthening the International Monetary System: Taking Stock and Looking Ahead (October 2015) will provide an overview of challenges facing the IMS and engage the Board on possible areas for further work.
- Quinquennial Review of Valuation of the SDR (November 2015; informal briefing and engagement of the Board in June and July) will assess the currency composition of the SDR basket.

### Governance and resources
- Earliest implementation of the 2010 Quota and Governance reforms is highest priority to preserve the quota-based nature of the IMF.
- Board will discuss a draft report to the Board of Governors on this topic in June.
- Board will consider an update of the quota database in July.
- Timing of work on the 15th General Review of Quotas and on a new quota formula will be determined, taking into account progress made in ratifying the 2010 reforms.
- The case for a further one-year extension of the 2012 Borrowing Agreements and a review of the current borrowing guidelines will be discussed in July.

### Facilitating Sustainable Development
- Board to discuss Revisiting the Monterrey Consensus in July, presenting the Fund’s position on a broad range of policy issues central to meeting countries’ development goals and areas where the Fund can strengthen support for developing countries.
- Enhancing the Financial Safety Net for Developing Countries (discussed by the Board in July) will contain proposals to expand access to concessional financing for the Fund’s poorest and most vulnerable members and enhance provision of rapid support to countries hit by natural disasters and affected by conflict, subject to maintaining the self-sustaining financing of the Poverty Reduction and Growth Trust.
- The Board will be engaged on The Fund’s Work on Climate Change in September, followed by a formal discussion on The Managing Director’s Statement on Climate Change in November, prior to the 21st Session of the Conference of Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change in Paris in December.
- Aspects of sustainable development will also be addressed in an SDN on macroeconomic aspects of water challenges, as well as a conference in July on carbon pricing and the environment.

### V. Strengthening the Fund — Adapting as an institution
- Continue to evolve to sustain effectiveness and meet membership needs by implementing recommendations of past reviews such as the TSR, learning from past experience and outside evaluations, and deploying internal resources in line with emerging priorities.
- Staff will share with the Board on an ongoing basis updates of relevant analytical work such as SDNs.

### TSR implementation
- Paper Evenhandedness at the Fund—Principles and Reporting Mechanism (November 2015) will establish a clearer understanding of the evenhandedness of surveillance based on “inputs” and a mechanism for authorities to report concerns as recommended in the 2014 TSR.
- Critical initiatives to implement key TSR recommendations on external sector assessment (¶7), macro-financial surveillance (¶8), and structural reforms (¶9) are described above.

### Policy reviews
- Review of the Fund’s Framework for Addressing Excessive Delays of Article IV Consultations will be taken forward; timing of the next meeting to be determined.
- Board discussion of Safeguards Assessments—Review of Experience (October 2015) to review the Fund’s recent experience with assessments of central bank safeguards.
- Board briefed on Implementation of the IMF Communications Strategy in November 2015.
- Review of Standards and Codes Initiative (April 2016), a five-yearly joint review with the World Bank on experience with the 12 areas and standards associated with this initiative, with focus on the newly developed macro-financial approach to supervisory standards assessments as called for in the 2014 FSAP review.

### Risk management
- The recently established Risk Management Unit will present for Board consideration the 2015 Report on Risk Management (July 2015).

### Independent Evaluation Office (IEO)
- Evaluations carried over from the Fall WP:
  - Self-Evaluation at the IMF: Learning from Experience (now planned for August 2015).
  - Statistics for Global Economic and Financial Stability: The Role of the IMF (now planned for October 2015).
- New study The Euro Crisis: The IMF’s Response planned for Board discussion in December 2015.
- Management implementation plans will be prepared for IEO reviews on:
  - IMF Forecasts: Process, Quality, and Country Perspectives;
  - IMF Response to the Financial and Economic Crisis; and
  - Recurring Issues from a Decade of Evaluation: Lessons for the IMF.

### Budget, finances, risk, and audit
- Discussions on the FY2017–2019 Medium-Term Budget to begin in November 2015 with a committee briefing on budget strategy.
- Committee session to engage the Board on initial proposals for the FY2017–2019 budget in February 2016.
- Formal Board meeting on the budget in April 2016, together with the review of the Fund’s Income Position for FY2016 and FY2017–18 and after the review of staff compensation in March (¶15).
- Board discussion of the Review of the Fund’s Precautionary Balances in February 2016.
- Review of the Fixed Income Investment Account—Further Considerations to be discussed in August 2015.
- External Audit Committee to provide audit oversight through regular briefings (July 2015 and January 2016).

### Managing human resources
- 2015 Diversity and Inclusion Annual Report to be discussed in November 2015; will review initial progress toward the new 2020 diversity benchmarks and discuss inclusion and flexibility in the work environment.
- December: five-yearly review of the actuarial assumptions and methods for the Staff Retirement Plan to be discussed by the Pension Committee.
- December: lessons learned for the Fund from an external study of compensation practices in other organizations to be brought to the Board.
- March 2016: 2016 Review of Staff Compensation, supported by a paper on Recruitment and Retention Experience in CY2015.
- Annual review of staff compensation to be conducted before the Spring Meetings to better integrate findings into the budget discussion (¶14).

*Source: IMF Spring 2015 Work Program (section 10: Lending framework and related agenda items).*

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_Source: https://www.imf.org/-/media/websites/imf/imported-full-text-pdf/external/np/pp/eng/2015/_060315.pdf_