Typical street scene in Santa Ana, El Salvador. (Photo: iStock)
October 6, 2009
Several countries have stepped forward to provide additional funding to support the IMF’s concessional lending to low-income countries that have been battered by the global economic crisis.
France, United Kingdom, Korea, Spain among countries committing to additional funding at IMF-World Bank Annual Meetings in Istanbul (IMF photo)
LOW-INCOME COUNTRIES
France, the United Kingdom, and Spain announced commitments to additional funding at the IMF-World Bank Annual Meetings in Istanbul. Korea and several other countries have also committed new contributions.
• France and the United Kingdom announced during the Meetings their intention to contribute $2 billion each as loan resources by lending Special Drawing Rights (SDRs).
• Korea will provide SDR 500 million ($750 million) in loans and SDR 8.8 million ($13.2 million) in subsides.
• Spain will provide SDR 405 million ($608 million) in loans and SDR 9 million ($13.5 million) in subsidies.
Donors to finance subsidy
The IMF has cut interest rates on its concessional loans to zero until the end of 2011 but needs money from donors to finance the subsidy and the increased lending.
IMF Managing Director Dominique Strauss-Kahn welcomed these commitments, and called on other nations to come forward with the loan and subsidy resources needed to support the Fund’s increased concessional lending to low-income countries.
Low-income countries have been hard hit by the crisis and the Fund has committed to step up its concessional lending to $17 billon through 2014, including $8 billion in 2009–10.
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