IMF Lending

September 30, 2013 A core responsibility of the IMF is to provide loans to member countries experiencing actual or potential balance of payments problems. This financial assistance enables countries to rebuild their international reserves, stabilize their currencies, continue paying for imports, and restore conditions for strong economic growth, while undertaking policies to correct underlying problems. Unlike development banks, the IMF does not lend for specific projects.

When can a country borrow from the IMF?

A member country may request IMF financial assistance if it has a balance of payments need (actual or potential)that is, if it cannot find sufficient financing on affordable terms to meet its net international payments (e.g., imports, external debt redemptions) while maintaining adequate reserve buffers going forward. An IMF loan provides a cushion that eases the adjustment policies and reforms that a country must make to correct its balance of payments problem and restore conditions for strong economic growth.

The changing nature of IMF lending

The volume of loans provided by the IMF has fluctuated significantly over time. The oil shock of the 1970s and the debt crisis of the 1980s were both followed by sharp increases in IMF lending. In the 1990s, the transition process in Central and Eastern Europe and the crises in emerging market economies led to further surges of demand for IMF resources. Deep crises in Latin America and Turkey kept demand for IMF resources high in the early 2000s. IMF lending rose again in late 2008 in the wake of the global financial crisis.

The process of IMF lending

Upon request by a member country, IMF resources are usually made available under a lending arrangement, which may, depending on the lending instrument used, stipulate specific economic policies and measures a country has agreed to implement to resolve its balance of payments problem. The economic policy program underlying an arrangement is formulated by the country in consultation with the IMF and is in most cases presented to the Funds Executive Board in a Letter of Intent. Once an arrangement is approved by the Board, IMF resources are usually released in phased installments as the program is implemented. Some arrangements provide strong-performing countries with a one-time up-front access to IMF resources and thus not subject to the observance of policy understandings.

IMF lending instruments

Over the years, the IMF has developed various loan instruments that are tailored to address the specific circumstances of its diverse membership. Low-income countries may borrow on concessional terms through the Extended Credit Facility (ECF), the Standby Credit Facility (SCF) and the Rapid Credit Facility (RCF) (see IMF Support for Low-Income Countries). Concessional loans carry zero interest rates until the end of 2014. Nonconcessional loans are provided mainly through Stand-By Arrangements (SBA), the Flexible Credit Line (FCL), the Precautionary and Liquidity Line (PLL), and the Extended Fund Facility (which is useful primarily for medium- and longer-term needs). The IMF also provides emergency assistance via the Rapid Financing Instrument (RFI) to all its members facing urgent balance of payments needs. All non-concessional facilities are subject to the IMFs marketrelated interest rate, known as the rate of charge, and large loans (above certain limits) carry a surcharge. The rate of charge is based on the SDR interest rate, which is revised weekly to take account of changes in short-term interest rates in major international money markets. The maximum amount that a country can borrow from the IMF, known as its access limit, varies depending on the type of loan, but is typically a multiple of the countrys IMF quota. This limit may be exceeded in exceptional circumstances. The Stand-By Arrangement, the Flexible Credit Line and the Extended Fund Facility have no pre-set cap on access. The new concessional facilities for LICs became effective in January 2010 under the Poverty Reduction and Growth Trust (PRGT) as part of a broader reform to make the Funds financial support more flexible and better tailored to the diverse needs of LICs. Access limits and norms have been approximately doubled compared to pre-crisis levels. Financing terms have been made more concessional, and the interest rate is reviewed every two years. All facilities support country-owned programs aimed at achieving a sustainable macroeconomic position consistent with strong and durable poverty reduction and growth. The Extended Credit Facility (ECF) succeeds the Poverty Reduction and Growth Facility (PRGF) as the Funds main tool for providing medium-term support to LICs with protracted balance of payments problems. Financing under the ECF currently carries a zero interest rate, with a grace period of 5 years, and a final maturity of 10 years. The Standby Credit Facility (SCF) provides financial assistance to LICs with short-term balance of payments needs. The SCF replaces the High-Access Component of the Exogenous Shocks Facility (ESF), and can be used in a wide range of circumstances, including on a precautionary basis. Financing under the SCF currently carries a zero interest rate, with a grace period of 4 years, and a final maturity of 8 years. The Rapid Credit Facility (RCF) provides rapid financial assistance with limited conditionality to LICs facing an urgent balance of payments need.The RCF streamlines the Funds emergency assistance for LICs, and can be used flexibly in a wide range of circumstances. Financing under the RCF currently carries a zero interest rate, has a grace period of 5 years, and a final maturity of 10 years. Stand-By Arrangements (SBA). Historically, the bulk of non-concessional IMF assistance has been provided through SBAs. The SBA is designed to help countries address short-term balance

of payments problems. Program targets are designed to address these problems and disbursements are made conditional on achieving these targets (conditionality). The length of a SBA is typically 1224 months, and repayment is due within 3-5 years of disbursement. SBAs may be provided on a precautionary basiswhere countries choose not to draw upon approved amounts but retain the option to do so if conditions deteriorateboth within the normal access limits and in cases of exceptional access. The SBA provides for flexibility with respect to phasing, with front-loaded access where appropriate. Flexible Credit Line (FCL). The FCL is for countries with very strong fundamentals, policies, and track records of policy implementation and is useful for both crisis prevention and crisis resolution. FCL arrangements are approved, at the member countrys request, for countries meeting pre-set qualification criteria. The length of the FCL is one or two years (with an interim review of continued qualification after one year) and the repayment period is the same as for the SBA. Access is determined on a case-by-case basis, is not subject to the normal access limits, and is available in a single up-front disbursement rather than phased. Disbursements under the FCL are not conditional on implementation of specific policy understandings as is the case under the SBA because FCL-eligible countries have a demonstrated track record of implementing appropriate macroeconomic policies. There is flexibility to either draw on the credit line at the time it is approved or treat it as precautionary. In case a member country draws, the repayment term is the same as that under the SBA. Precautionary and Liquidity Line (PLL). The PLL replaced the Precautionary Credit Line (PCL), building on its strengths and enhancing its flexibility. The PLL can be used for both crisis prevention and crisis resolution purposes by countries with sound fundamentals and policies, and a track record of implementing such policies. PLL-eligible countries may face moderate vulnerabilities and may not meet the FCL qualification standards, but they do not require the same large-scale policy adjustments normally associated with SBAs. The PLL combines qualification (similar to the FCL) with focused expost conditions that aim at addressing the identified remaining vulnerabilities in the context of semi-annual monitoring. Duration of PLL arrangements can be either six months or 1-2 years. Access under the six-month PLL is limited to 250 percent of quota in normal times, but this limit can be raised to 500 percent of quota in exceptional circumstances where the balance of payments need is due to exogenous shocks, including heightened regional or global stress. 1-2 year PLL arrangements are subject to an annual access limit of 500 percent of quota and a cumulative limit of 1000 percent of quota. The repayment term of the PLL is the same as for the SBA. Extended Fund Facility (EFF). This facility was established in 1974 to help countries address medium- and longer-term balance of payments problems reflecting extensive distortions that require fundamental economic reforms. Its use has increased substantially in the recent crisis period, reflecting the structural nature of some members balance of payments problems. Arrangements under the EFF are typically longer than SBAsnormally not exceeding three years at approval. However, a maximum duration of up to four years is also allowed, predicated on the existence of a balance of payments need beyond the three-year period, the prolonged nature of the adjustment required to restore macroeconomic stability, and the presence of

adequate assurances about the members ability and willingness to implement deep and sustained structural reforms. Repayment is due within 410 years from the date of disbursement. Rapid Financing Instrument (RFI). The RFI was introduced to replace and broaden the scope of the earlier emergency assistance policies. The RFI provides rapid financial assistance with limited conditionality to all members facing an urgent balance of payments need. Access under the RFI is subject to an annual limit of 50 percent of quota and a cumulative limit of 100 percent of quota. Emergency loans are subject to the same terms as the FCL, PLL and SBA, with repayment within 35 years.

Lending by the IMF

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Related Links

Overview of IMF lending Crisis lending explained Lending to low-income countries Debt relief SDR interest rate

Highlights of this section:

The changing nature of lending Lending to preserve financial stability Conditions for lending Main lending facilities Helping low-income countries Debt relief

A country in severe financial trouble, unable to pay its international bills, poses potential problems for the stability of the international financial system, which the IMF was created to protect. Any member country, whether rich, middle-income, or poor, can turn to the IMF for financing if it has a balance of payments needthat is, if it cannot find sufficient financing on affordable terms in the capital markets to make its international payments and maintain a safe level of reserves.

IMF loans are meant to help member countries tackle balance of payments problems, stabilize their economies, and restore sustainable economic growth. This crisis resolution role is at the core of IMF lending. At the same time, the global financial crisis has highlighted the need for effective global financial safety nets to help countries cope with adverse shocks. A key objective of recent lending reforms has therefore been to complement the traditional crisis resolution role of the IMF with more effective tools for crisis prevention. The IMF is not a development bank and, unlike the World Bank and other development agencies, it does not finance projects. The changing nature of lending About four out of five member countries have used IMF credit at least once. But the amount of loans outstanding and the number of borrowers have fluctuated significantly over time. In the first two decades of the IMF's existence, more than half of its lending went to industrial countries. But since the late 1970s, these countries have been able to meet their financing needs in the capital markets. The oil shock of the 1970s and the debt crisis of the 1980s led many lower- and lower-middleincome countries to borrow from the IMF. In the 1990s, the transition process in central and eastern Europe and the crises in emerging market economies led to a further increase in the demand for IMF resources. In 2004, benign economic conditions worldwide meant that many countries began to repay their loans to the IMF. As a consequence, the demand for the Funds resources dropped off sharply . But in 2008, the IMF began making loans to countries hit by the global financial crisis The IMF currently has programs with more than 50 countries around the world and has committed more than $325 billion in resources to its member countries since the start of the global financial crisis. While the financial crisis has sparked renewed demand for IMF financing, the decline in lending that preceded the financial crisis also reflected a need to adapt the IMF's lending instruments to the changing needs of member countries. In response, the IMF conducted a wide-ranging review of its lending facilities and terms on which it provides loans. In March 2009, the Fund announced a major overhaul of its lending framework, including modernizing conditionality, introducing a new flexible credit line, enhancing the flexibility of the Funds regular stand-by lending arrangement, doubling access limits on loans, adapting its cost structures for high-access and precautionary lending, and streamlining instruments that were seldom used. It has also speeded up lending procedures and redesigned its Exogenous Shocks Facility to make it easier to access for low-income countries. More reforms have since been undertaken, most recently in November 2011. Lending to preserve financial stability

Article I of the IMF's Articles of Agreement states that the purpose of lending by the IMF is "...to give confidence to members by making the general resources of the Fund temporarily available to them under adequate safeguards, thus providing them with opportunity to correct maladjustments in their balance of payments without resorting to measures destructive of national or international prosperity." In practice, the purpose of the IMF's lending has changed dramatically since the organization was created. Over time, the IMF's financial assistance has evolved from helping countries deal with short-term trade fluctuations to supporting adjustment and addressing a wide range of balance of payments problems resulting from terms of trade shocks, natural disasters, postconflict situations, broad economic transition, poverty reduction and economic development, sovereign debt restructuring, and confidence-driven banking and currency crises. Today, IMF lending serves three main purposes. First, it can smooth adjustment to various shocks, helping a member country avoid disruptive economic adjustment or sovereign default, something that would be extremely costly, both for the country itself and possibly for other countries through economic and financial ripple effects (known as contagion). Second, IMF programs can help unlock other financing, acting as a catalyst for other lenders. This is because the program can serve as a signal that the country has adopted sound policies, reinforcing policy credibility and increasing investors' confidence. Third, IMF lending can help prevent crisis. The experience is clear: capital account crises typically inflict substantial costs on countries themselves and on other countries through contagion. The best way to deal with capital account problems is to nip them in the bud before they develop into a full-blown crisis. Conditions for lending When a member country approaches the IMF for financing, it may be in or near a state of economic crisis, with its currency under attack in foreign exchange markets and its international reserves depleted, economic activity stagnant or falling, and a large number of firms and households going bankrupt. In difficult economic times, the IMF helps countries to protect the most vulnerable in a crisis. The IMF aims to ensure that conditions linked to IMF loan disbursements are focused and adequately tailored to the varying strengths of members' policies and fundamentals. To this end, the IMF discusses with the country the economic policies that may be expected to address the problems most effectively. The IMF and the government agree on a program of policies aimed at achieving specific, quantified goals in support of the overall objectives of the authorities' economic program. For example, the country may commit to fiscal or foreign exchange reserve targets.

The IMF discusses with the country the economic policies that may be expected to address the problems most effectively. The IMF and the government agree on a program of policies aimed at achieving specific, quantified goals in support of the overall objectives of the authorities' economic program. For example, the country may commit to fiscal or foreign exchange reserve targets. Loans are typically disbursed in a number of installments over the life of the program, with each installment conditional on targets being met. Programs typically last up to 3 years, depending on the nature of the country's problems, but can be followed by another program if needed. The government outlines the details of its economic program in a "letter of intent" to the Managing Director of the IMF. Such letters may be revised if circumstances change. For countries in crisis, IMF loans usually provide only a small portion of the resources needed to finance their balance of payments. But IMF loans also signal that a country's economic policies are on the right track, which reassures investors and the official community, helping countries find additional financing from other sources. Main lending facilities In an economic crisis, countries often need financing to help them overcome their balance of payments problems. Since its creation in June 1952, the IMFs Stand-By Arrangement (SBA) has been used time and again by member countries, it is the IMFs workhorse lending instrument for emerging market countries. Rates are non-concessional, although they are almost always lower than what countries would pay to raise financing from private markets. The SBA was upgraded in 2009 to be more flexible and responsive to member countries needs. Borrowing limits were doubled with more funds available up front, and conditions were streamlined and simplified. The new framework also enables broader high-access borrowing on a precautionary basis. The Flexible Credit Line (FCL) is for countries with very strong fundamentals, policies, and track records of policy implementation. It represents a significant shift in how the IMF delivers Fund financial assistance, particularly with recent enhancements, as it has no ongoing (ex post) conditions and no caps on the size of the credit line. The FCL is a renewable credit line, which at the countrys discretion could be for either 1-2 years, with a review of eligibility after the first year. There is the flexibility to either treat the credit line as precautionary or draw on it at any time after the FCL is approved. Once a country qualifies (according to pre-set criteria), it can tap all resources available under the credit line at any time, as disbursements would not be phased and conditioned on particular policies as with traditional IMF-supported programs. This is justified by the very strong track records of countries that qualify to the FCL, which give confidence that their economic policies will remain strong or that corrective measures will be taken in the face of shocks. The Precautionary and Liquidity Line (PLL) builds on the strengths and broadens the scope of the Precautionary Credit Line (PCL). The PLL provides financing to meet actual or potential balance of payments needs of countries with sound policies, and is intended to serve as insurance and help resolve crises. It combines a qualification process (similar to that for the FCL) with

focused ex-post conditionality aimed at addressing vulnerabilities identified during qualification. Its qualification requirements signal the strength of qualifying countries fundamentals and policies, thus contributing to consolidation of market confidence in the countrys policy plans. The PLL is designed to provide liquidity to countries with sound policies under broad circumstances, including countries affected by regional or global economic and financial stress. The Rapid Financing Instrument (RFI) provides rapid and low-access financial assistance to member countries facing an urgent balance of payments need, without the need for a full-fledged program. It can provide support to meet a broad range of urgent needs, including those arising from commodity price shocks, natural disasters, post-conflict situations and emergencies resulting from fragility. The Extended Fund Facility is used to help countries address balance of payments difficulties related partly to structural problems that may take longer to correct than macroeconomic imbalances. A program supported by an extended arrangement usually includes measures to improve the way markets and institutions function, such as tax and financial sector reforms, privatization of public enterprises. The Trade Integration Mechanism allows the IMF to provide loans under one of its facilities to a developing country whose balance of payments is suffering because of multilateral trade liberalization, either because its export earnings decline when it loses preferential access to certain markets or because prices for food imports go up when agricultural subsidies are eliminated. Lending to low-income countries To help low-income countries weather the severe impact of the global financial crisis, the IMF has revamped its concessional lending facilities to make them more flexible and meet increasing demand for financial assistance from countries in need. These changes became effective in January 2010. Once additional loan and subsidy resources are mobilized, these changes will boost available resources for low-income countries to $17 billion through 2014. To ensure resources are available for lending to low-income countries beyond 2014, the IMF approved an additional $2.7 billion in remaining windfall profits from gold sales as part of a strategy to make lending to low-income countries sustainable. Three types of loans were created under the new Poverty Reduction and Growth Trust (PRGT) as part of this broader reform: the Extended Credit Facility, the Rapid Credit Facility and the Standby Credit Facility. The Extended Credit Facility (ECF) provides financial assistance to countries with protracted balance of payments problems. The ECF succeeds the Poverty Reduction and Growth Facility (PRGF) as the Funds main tool for providing medium-term support LICs, with higher levels of access, more concessional financing terms, more flexible program design features, as well as streamlined and more focused conditionality.

The Rapid Credit Facility (RCF) provides rapid financial assistance with limited conditionality to low-income countries (LICs) facing an urgent balance of payments need. The RCF streamlines the Funds emergency assistance, provides significantly higher levels of concessionality, can be used flexibly in a wide range of circumstances, and places greater emphasis on the countrys poverty reduction and growth objectives. The Standby Credit Facility (SCF) provides financial assistance to low-income countries (LICs) with short-term balance of payments needs. It provides support under a wide range of circumstances, allows for high access, carries a low interest rate, can be used on a precautionary basis, and places emphasis on countries poverty reduction and growth objectives. Several low-income countries have made significant progress in recent years toward economic stability and no longer require IMF financial assistance. But many of these countries still seek the IMF's advice, and the monitoring and endorsement of their economic policies that comes with it. To help these countries, the IMF has created a program for policy support and signaling, called the Policy Support Instrument. Debt relief In addition to concessional loans, some low-income countries are also eligible for debts to be written off under two key initiatives. The Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) Initiative, introduced in 1996 and enhanced in 1999, whereby creditors provide debt relief, in a coordinated manner, with a view to restoring debt sustainability; and The Multilateral Debt Relief Initiative (MDRI), under which the IMF, the International Development Association (IDA) of the World Bank, and the African Development Fund (AfDF) canceled 100 percent of their debt claims on certain countries to help them advance toward the Millennium Development Goals.