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External Relations Department Washington, D.C. 20431 Telephone 202-623-7300 Fax 202-623-6278

URL: http://www.imf.org/external/np/exr/facts/glance.htm

The IMF at a GlanceThe International Monetary Fund (IMF) works to foster international monetarycooperation, secure financial stability, facilitate international trade, promote highemployment and sustainable economic growth, and reduce poverty around theworld. Created in 1945, the IMF is governed by and accountable to the187 countries that make up its near-global membership.

Why the IMF was created and how it works

The IMF, also known as the Fund, was conceived at a United Nations conferenceconvened in Bretton Woods, New Hampshire, United States, in July 1944. The44 governments represented at that conference sought to build a framework for economiccooperation that would avoid a repetition of the vicious circle of competitive devaluationsthat had contributed to the Great Depression of the 1930s.

The IMFs responsibilities:The IMF's primary purpose is to ensure the stability of theinternational monetary systemthe system of exchange rates and international paymentsthat enables countries (and their citizens) to transact with one other. This system is essentialfor promoting sustainable economic growth, increasing living standards, andreducingpoverty.Following the recent global crisis, the Fund has been clarifying and updating itsmandateto cover the full range of macroeconomic and financial sector issues that bear onglobal stability.

Fast Facts on the IMF

Membership:187 countries Headquarters: Washington, D.C.

Executive Board: 24 Directors representing countries or groups of countries Staff: Approximately 2,500 from 160 countries Total quotas: US$376 billion (as of 5/25/11) Additional pledged or committed resources: US$600 billion Loans committed (as of 5/25/11): US$280 billion, of which US$215 billion have not been

drawn (seetable)

Biggest borrowers (amount agreed as of 5/25/11): Greece, Portugal,Ireland Biggest precautionary loans (amount agreed as of 5/25/11): Mexico, Poland, Colombia Surveillance consultations: Consultations concluded for 120 countries in FY2010 and for

88 countries in FY2011 as of 02/11/11

Technical assistance: Field delivery in FY2010192.5 person years

Transparency: In 2009, over 90 percent of Article IV and program-related staff reportsand policy papers were published Original aims: Article I of theArticles of Agreement sets out the IMFs main goals:

promoting international monetary cooperation; facilitating the expansion and balanced growth of international trade; promoting exchange stability; assisting in the establishment of a multilateral system of payments; and making resources available (with adequate safeguards) to members

ex eriencin balance of a ments difficulties.

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Surveillance: To maintain stability and prevent crises in the international monetary system,the IMF reviews country policies, as well as national, regional, and global economic andfinancial developments through a formal system known assurveillance. Under thesurveillance framework, the IMF provides advice to its 187 member countries, encouragingpolicies that foster economic stability, reduce vulnerability to economic and financial crises,

and raise living standards. It provides regular assessment of global prospects in itsWorldEconomic Outlook,financial markets in itsGlobal Financial Stability Report, and publicfinance developments in itsFiscal Monitor, and publishes a series of regional economicoutlooks. The Funds Executive Board has been considering a range of options to enhancemultilateral, financial, and bilateral surveillance, and better integrate the three.

Financial assistance:IMF financing provides member countries the breathing room theyneed to correct balance of payments problems. A policy program supported by IMFfinancing is designed by the national authorities in close cooperation with the IMF, andcontinued financial support is conditioned on effective implementation of this program. In anearly response to the recent global economic crisis, the IMF strengthened its lendingcapacity and approved amajor overhaulof the mechanisms for providing financial support in

April 2009, with further reforms adopted in August 2010.

In the most recent reforms, IMF lending instruments were improved further to provideflexible crisis prevention toolsto a broad range of members with sound fundamentals,policies, and institutional policy frameworks. In low-income countries, the IMFdoubled loanaccess limits and is boosting its lendingto the worlds poorer countries, with interest ratesset at zero until 2012.

SDRs: The IMF issues an international reserve asset known asSpecial Drawing Rights(SDRs)that can supplement the official reserves of member countries. Two allocations inAugust and September 2009 increased the outstanding stock of SDRs almost ten-fold tototal about SDR 204 billion (US$308 billion). Members can also voluntarily exchange SDRsfor currencies among themselves. In a recentpaper, IMF staff explore options to enhancethe role of the SDR to promote international monetary stability.

Technical assistance:The IMF offers technical assistance and training to help membercountries strengthen their capacity to design and implement effective policies. Technicalassistance is offered in several areas, including tax policy and administration, expendituremanagement, monetary and exchange rate policies, banking and financial systemsupervision and regulation, legislative frameworks, and statistics.

Resources:The IMFsresources are provided by its member countries, primarily throughpayment ofquotas, which broadly reflect each countrys economic size. At the April 2009G-20 Summit, world leaders pledged to supporta tripling of the IMF's lending resources fromabout US$250 billion to US$750 billion. To deliver on this pledge, the current and newparticipants in theNew Arrangements to Borrow (NAB)agreed toexpand the NABto aboutUS$550 billion, which was approved by the Executive Board of the IMF on April 12, 2010and became effective on March 11, 2011 following completion of the ratification process byNAB participants. When concluding the 14th General Review of Quotas inDecember 2010,Governors agreed to double the IMFs quota resources to approximately US$745 billion anda major realignment of quota shares among members. When the quota increase becomeseffective, there will be acorresponding rollbackin NAB resources.

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Historically,the annual expenses of running the Fund have been met mainly by interestreceipts on outstanding loans, but the membership recently agreed to adopt anew incomemodel based on a range of revenue sources better suited to the diverse activities of theFund.

Governanceand organization: The IMF is accountable to the governments of its membercountries. At the top of itsorganizational structure is theBoard of Governors, which consistsof one Governor and one Alternate Governor from each member country. The Board ofGovernors meets once each year at theIMF-World Bank Annual Meetings. Twenty-four ofthe Governors sit on the International Monetary and Finance Committee (IMFC) and meetat least twice each year.

The day-to-day work of the IMF is conducted by its 24-memberExecutive Board, whichrepresents the entire membership; this work is guided by the IMFC and supported by theIMFs professional staff. Inreforms approved by the Governorsin December 2010, theArticles of Agreement will be amended so that the Executive Board will consist solely ofelected Directors, doing away with the practice of some member countries appointing theirrepresentatives. The Managing Director is Head ofIMF staffand Chairman of the Executive

Board, and is assisted by three Deputy Managing Directors.

THIS INFORMATION IS CURRENT AS OF JUNE 2011

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