Washington, DC: The
Executive Board
approved today a proposal to be considered by the Board of Governors to
conclude the 16 th General Review of Quotas (16 th
Review) with a significant increase in quotas. The proposal follows the
guidance
from the International Monetary and Financial Committee (IMFC) at the 2023
Annual Meetings.
“Concluding the 16 th Review with a quota increase will help
preserve a strong, quota-based and adequately resourced IMF at the center
of the Global Financial Safety Net. An adequately resourced IMF is
essential to safeguard global financial stability and respond to members’
potential needs in an uncertain and shock-prone world,” IMF Managing
Director Kristalina Georgieva said after the Executive Board’s decision.
The proposal is centered around an increase in quotas of 50 percent,
allocated to members in proportion to their current quotas. The quota
increase would enhance the IMF’s permanent resources and strengthen the
quota-based nature of the Fund by reducing the reliance on borrowing and
thus ensuring the primary role of quotas in Fund resources.
The proposal envisages that once quota increases are in effect, borrowed
resources comprising the Bilateral Borrowing Agreements and New
Arrangements to Borrow (NAB) would be reduced to maintain the Fund’s
current lending capacity.
The membership has also acknowledged the urgency and importance of quota
share realignment to better reflect members’ relative positions in the
world economy while protecting the quota shares of the poorest members, and
many members would have supported a quota realignment now, together with
the proposed quota increase. Hence, another critical element of today’s
proposal is a call on the Executive Board to work to develop, by June
2025, possible approaches as a guide for further quota realignment,
including through a new quota formula, under the 17 th General
Review of Quotas. Work to implement this guidance will begin as soon as
feasible after the conclusion of the 16 th Review.
“The proposed quota increase comes at a complex time for the global economy
and the IMF’s membership. In the spirit of international cooperation, I am
hopeful this proposal will garner the broadest possible support from the
membership, and that we will then make progress on a quota realignment
under the 17 th Review,” said IMF Managing Director Kristalina
Georgieva.
“As the world grapples with rising fragmentation, today’s decision is a
strong signal that the membership can still come together in support of
cooperative solutions that instill confidence in the IMF’s ability to
effectively support its membership navigate a challenging global
landscape,” she said. The Executive Board has requested that the Board of
Governors vote on this proposal by December 15, 2023. Approval by the Board
of Governors requires an 85 percent majority of the total voting power.
Related links:
Factsheet:
IMF Quotas
Factsheet:
Where the IMF Gets Its Money
