IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva Announces Operationalization of the Resilience and Sustainability Trust (RST) to Help Vulnerable Countries Meet Long-Term Challenges

IMF News, October 12, 2022

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Canonical URL: IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva Announces Operationalization of the Resilience and Sustainability Trust (RST) to Help Vulnerable Countries Meet Long-Term Challenges

Press Release No. PR22/348; October 12, 2022.
Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva: "the new Resilience and Sustainability Trust (RST) has become operational."
The Executive Board has been notified that "with our fundraising to date, the RST is ready to start lending operations."
IMF will begin approving members’ requests for Resilience and Sustainability Facility (RSF) arrangements; initial requests expected to be discussed at the Executive Board in the coming months.

RST is the IMF’s first facility to provide long-term affordable financing.
Objective: support countries to build resilience to structural challenges—such as climate change and pandemics—to help maintain longer-term economic and financial stability and to catalyze other public and private financing.
RST serves as a third pillar of the IMF’s lending toolkit alongside the General Resources Account (GRA) and the Poverty Reduction and Growth Trust (PRGT).
Financing terms: 20-year maturity and a 10½‑year grace period.

Will support eligible low and middle-income countries—comprising about three-quarters of the IMF’s membership.
RST will amplify the impact of the US$650 billion SDR allocation implemented last year by channeling resources from economically stronger members to countries where the needs are greatest.
The IMF is already in advanced discussions with a diverse group of countries on climate policy actions and is preparing for RST lending to support policies for pandemic preparedness.

First-round contributions: Australia, Canada, China, Germany, Japan, and Spain provided the first round of resource contributions amounting to a total of SDR 15.3 billion (US$ 20 billion).
Total current RST pledges to date: SDR 29 billion (US$ 37 billion) from 13 countries.
Further contributions expected to become effective in early 2023 once countries complete their domestic procedures.
Management commitment to continue fundraising to broaden the pool of contributors and ensure sufficient resources for anticipated demand for RSF arrangements.

The Executive Board approved establishment of the RST in April 2022 to operationalize around the time of the 2022 IMF/World Bank Annual Meetings.
The IMF will build experience with the instrument during the initial phase and apply lessons from early cases to benefit the broader group of eligible countries.
Cooperation with other international institutions is underway for pandemic preparedness policy support.

Source: IMF Press Release No. PR22/348, October 12, 2022.