## Press Release: IMF Board of Governors Approves Major Quota and Governance Reforms _IMF News, December 16, 2010_ ## Source details **Canonical URL:** [Press Release: IMF Board of Governors Approves Major Quota and Governance Reforms](https://www.imf.org/en/news/articles/2015/09/14/01/49/pr10477) ## Other formats - [Markdown version](/en/news/articles/2015/09/14/01/49/pr10477/index.md) - [Structured JSON version](/en/news/articles/2015/09/14/01/49/pr10477/index.json) - [Bundle manifest](/en/news/articles/2015/09/14/01/49/pr10477/bundle-manifest.json) ## Bibliographic details - Published: December 16, 2010 --- ### Approval and voting outcome - The Board of Governors approved a package of reforms of the Fund’s quotas and governance. - When voting ended on December 15, 2010, Governors representing 95.32 percent of the total voting power had cast votes in favor of a Resolution on Quota and Reform of the Executive Board, exceeding the 85 percent required. - The Resolution had been recommended by the IMF's Executive Board to the IMF Board of Governors on November 5 (see Press Release No. 10/418). ### Scope and purpose of the reforms - The package is a set of reforms on quotas and governance in the IMF designed to lead to a major overhaul of the Fund’s voice and governance, strengthening the Fund’s legitimacy and effectiveness. - The Board of Governors also supported an amendment to the Articles of Agreement that would facilitate a move to a more representative, all-elected Executive Board. - The reforms build on those initiated in 2008 (see Press Release No.08/93). ### Quota changes and distributional effects - Completion of the 14th General Review of Quotas with an unprecedented doubling of quotas to approximately SDR 476.8 billion (about US$733.9 billion). - Once in effect, the reforms will: - result in a shift of more than 6 percent of quota shares to dynamic emerging market and developing countries; - result in more than 6 percent shift from over-represented to under-represented countries; - protect the quota shares and voting power of the poorest members. - Combined with earlier steps, the voting shares of emerging market and developing countries as a group will rise by over 5 percentage points. - Exchange-rate basis: Based on the current market exchange rate, which was 0.649724 SDRs to the U.S. dollar on December 15, 2010. ### Executive Board and governance structure - The Board of Governors is the highest decision-making body of the IMF and consists of one governor appointed by each member country. - The governor is usually the minister of finance or the governor of the central bank. - The Board of Governors normally meets once a year. - The Executive Board functions in continuous session and is responsible for conducting the business of the IMF. - It is composed of 24 Directors, who are appointed (5) or elected by member countries or by groups of countries (19), and the Managing Director, who serves as its Chairman. - The Board usually meets several times each week and carries out its work largely on the basis of papers prepared by IMF management and staff. - Each member country is assigned a quota that: - is based broadly on its relative position in the world economy; - is the primary source of the IMF's financial resources; - determines its maximum financial commitment to the IMF and its voting power; - bears on its access to IMF financing. ### Implications for membership representation and ranking - The 10 Fund members with the largest voting share will consist of: - the United States, Japan, plus the so-called “BRICs” (Brazil, China, India, the Russian Federation), and the four largest European countries (France, Germany, Italy, the United Kingdom). - The major realignment in the ranking of quota shares under this reform will result in a Fund that better reflects global realities. ### Implementation and next steps - Following the Board of Governors’ approval, the next step is for member countries to accept the proposed quota increases and the amendment to the Articles of Agreement. - Members will make best efforts to complete this by the Annual Meeting of the Board of Governors in October 2012. - In many cases this involves parliamentary approval. - IMF Managing Director Dominique Strauss-Kahn urged all members to proceed rapidly with the steps required to implement this package within the agreed timeframe. *Press Release No. 10/477, December 16, 2010. International Monetary Fund.* --- ## Content in this bundle - [Pr10477apdf (PDF)](/-/media/websites/imf/imported/external/arabic/np/sec/pr/2010/pr10477apdf.pdf){rel="external" type="application/pdf"} - [Pr10477cpdf (PDF)](/-/media/websites/imf/imported/external/chinese/np/sec/pr/2010/pr10477cpdf.pdf){rel="external" type="application/pdf"} - [Pr10477jpdf (PDF)](/-/media/websites/imf/imported/external/japanese/np/sec/pr/2010/pr10477jpdf.pdf){rel="external" type="application/pdf"} - [Pr10418tablepdf (PDF)](/-/media/websites/imf/imported/external/np/sec/pr/2010/pdfs/_pr10418tablepdf.pdf){rel="external" type="application/pdf"} - [Pr10477rpdf (PDF)](/-/media/websites/imf/imported/external/russian/np/sec/pr/2010/pr10477rpdf.pdf){rel="external" type="application/pdf"} --- ## References - [PRESS CENTER](http://presscenter.imf.org/) - [Press Release No. 10/418](https://www.imf.org/external/np/sec/pr/2010/pr10418.htm) - [Press Release No.08/93](https://www.imf.org/external/np/sec/pr/2008/pr0893.htm) - [Board of Governors](https://www.imf.org/external/np/sec/memdir/members.htm) - [Executive Board](https://www.imf.org/external/np/sec/memdir/eds.htm) - [quota](https://www.imf.org/external/np/exr/facts/quotas.htm) - [http://www.imf.org/external/np/fin/quotas/pubs/index.htm](https://www.imf.org/external/np/fin/quotas/pubs/index.htm) - [http://www.imf.org/external/np/exr/facts/govern.htm](https://www.imf.org/external/np/exr/facts/govern.htm) - [https://www.imf.org/en/home](https://www.imf.org/en/home) _Source: https://www.imf.org/en/news/articles/2015/09/14/01/49/pr10477_