## IMF Lending Programs

## Source details

**Canonical URL:** [IMF Lending Programs](https://www.imf.org/en/about/effectiveness-of-imf-lending)

## Other formats

- [Markdown version](/en/about/effectiveness-of-imf-lending/index.md)
- [Structured JSON version](/en/about/effectiveness-of-imf-lending/index.json)
- [Bundle manifest](/en/about/effectiveness-of-imf-lending/bundle-manifest.json)

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### Overview and mandate
- Publication date: April 2025.
- Since its founding in 1944, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has provided financial assistance to countries to absorb shocks, catalyze private financing, and promote prudent macroeconomic policies.
- The IMF’s total lending capacity is described as about $1 trillion.

### Roles of IMF financing
- IMF financing helps countries in three ways:
  - It helps absorb shocks, enabling countries to meet immediate financial needs and cushion economic distress.
  - It catalyzes private-sector investments and additional financial support by signaling that underlying issues can be resolved through reforms.
  - It promotes prudent macroeconomic policies that support financial stability and growth.

### Historical and recent assistance examples
- Reconstructing the international payments system post-World War II.
- Assisting newly independent African nations in the 1960s.
- Supporting economies during the oil shocks in the 1970s.
- Helping former Soviet Union nations transition to market-based economies.
- Providing financial assistance to Mexico, Turkey, and key emerging market countries in Asia during the capital flow crises of the 1990s.
- Catalyzing and providing multilateral debt relief to over 30 heavily indebted and low-income countries in the late 1990s/2000s.
- Providing access to $540 billion to nearly 90 countries, particularly major economies in Europe, following the Global Financial Crisis.
- Bringing timely financial support to Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone to fight the 2015 Ebola outbreak.
- Providing around $400 billion in loans to almost 100 countries since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic.

### Country program highlights and numeric details
- Cyprus:
  - Cyprus approached the IMF for a three-year lending arrangement of about €1 billion with two goals: putting the banking sector on a sound footing and returning public finances to a sustainable path.
- Iceland:
  - The IMF-supported program of $2.1 billion remains among the largest relative to the size of the economy—18 percent of Iceland’s GDP, or 1,190 percent of Iceland’s quota in the IMF.
- Ireland:
  - In November 2010, the Irish government sought help from the IMF and the European Union, which together provided loans totaling €67.5 billion—equal to 40 percent of Ireland’s economy.
- Jamaica:
  - Jamaica turned to the IMF in spring 2013 for financial support; the program required a primary surplus of 7.5 percent of GDP to help stabilize the economy and address long-standing structural challenges.
- Portugal:
  - The agreement between Portugal and its international partners extended financial assistance worth €78 billion ($116 billion; £70 billion)—of which one-third was committed by the IMF.
- Serbia:
  - A three-year precautionary Stand-By Arrangement was approved in 2015 when Serbia’s economy faced large fiscal imbalances and protracted structural challenges.

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## References

- [IMF Lending Factsheet](https://www.imf.org/en/About/Factsheets/IMF-Lending)
- [2026 Review of Program Design and Conditionality](https://www.imf.org/en/topics/2026-review-of-program-design-and-conditionality)
- [About the IMF](https://www.imf.org/en/About)
- [Cyprus](https://www.imf.org/en/countries/cyp/cyprus-lending-case-study)
- [Iceland](https://www.imf.org/en/countries/isl/iceland-lending-case-study)
- [Ireland](https://www.imf.org/en/countries/irl/ireland-lending-case-study)
- [Jamaica](https://www.imf.org/en/countries/jam/jamaica-lending-case-study)
- [Portugal](https://www.imf.org/en/countries/prt/portugal-lending-case-study)
- [Serbia](https://www.imf.org/en/countries/srb/serbia-lending-case-study)

_Source: https://www.imf.org/en/about/effectiveness-of-imf-lending_