Press Release No. 16/489

IMF Executive Board Reports to the Board of Governors on the Fifteenth General Review of Quotas

November 4, 2016

On November 2, 2016, the Executive Board of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) adopted a report to the Board of Governors—the IMF’s highest decision-making body—on the Fifteenth General Review of Quotas (“Fifteenth Review”).

In its Report, the Executive Board recognizes that while it would have liked to maintain the current timetable, which had aimed for completing the Fifteenth Review by the 2017 Annual Meetings, it is no longer within reach. It proposes that the Board of Governors adopt a Resolution calling on the Executive Board to work on the Fifteenth Review expeditiously in line with existing Executive Board understandings and the guidance provided by the International Monetary and Financial Committee (IMFC) on October 8, 2016, with the aim of completing the Fifteenth Review by the Spring Meetings of 2019 and no later than the Annual Meetings of 2019. The Report also includes a concrete work agenda to achieve this goal.

Background

The Executive Board previously reported to the Board of Governors on progress on the Fifteenth Review in early October 2016 (see Press Release No. 16/446 ). That Report noted that Executive Directors’ views on the quota formula were broadly unchanged from those expressed in previous discussions, and that further reflection was needed on how best to take the work on the Fifteenth Review forward. The Executive Board undertook to report to the Board of Governors on the outcome of these discussions in the near future.

In its October 8, 2016 Communiqué, the IMFC reaffirmed its commitment to a strong, quota-based and adequately resourced IMF to preserve its role at the center of the global financial safety net. The IMFC stated that it is committed to concluding the Fifteenth Review and agreeing on a new quota formula as a basis for a realignment of quota shares to result in increased shares for dynamic economies in line with their relative positions in the world economy and hence likely in the share of emerging market and developing countries as a whole, while protecting the voice and representation of the poorest members. To provide adequate time to build the necessary broad consensus, the IMFC expressed its support for the Managing Director’s proposal to reset the timetable for completing the Fifteenth Review in line with the above goals by the Spring Meetings of 2019 and no later than the Annual Meetings of 2019, subject to adoption by the Board of Governors. The IMFC called on the Executive Board to establish a concrete work agenda to achieve this goal.