Press Release No. 98/57

With the adherence of the United States and Germany, the New Arrangements to Borrow (NAB), approved by the Executive Board of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) on January 27, 1997 (see Press Release No. 97/5), became effective on November 17, 1998. The NAB are a set of credit arrangements between the IMF and 25 members and institutions to provide supplementary resources to the IMF to forestall or cope with an impairment of the international monetary system or to deal with an exceptional situation that poses a threat to the stability of that system.

The NAB do not replace the existing General Arrangements to Borrow (GAB), which remain in force. The total amount of resources available to the IMF under the NAB and GAB combined will be up to SDR 34 billion (about US$ 48 billion), double the amount available under the GAB alone. By strengthening the IMF's ability to support the adjustment efforts of its members and to address their balance of payments difficulties, the NAB are an important element of the IMF's capacity to respond to potential systemic problems.

The NAB decision will be in effect for five years from November 17, 1998, and may be renewed.

The list of NAB participants and their credit arrangements is listed below.

Participants and Amount of Credit Arrangements under the NAB Amount Participant (SDR millions) Australia 810 Austria 412 Belgium* 967 Canada* 1,396 Denmark 371 Deutsche Bundesbank* 3,557 Finland 340 France* 2,577 Hong Kong Monetary Authority 340 Italy* 1,772 Japan* 3,557 Korea 340 Kuwait 345 Luxembourg 340 Malaysia 340 Netherlands* 1,316 Norway 383 Saudi Arabia* 1,780 Singapore 340 Spain 672 Sveriges Riksbank* 859 Swiss National Bank* 1,557 Thailand 340 United Kingdom* 2,577 United States of America* 6,712 Total 34,0001 *Also a participant in, or associated with, the GAB. 1On November 17, 1998 SDR 1 equaled US$1.39731.