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The International Monetary Fund was created. Russia and the IMF: from the largest debtor to an influential creditor. Structure and functions of the IMF

International Monetary Fund (IMF)

An intergovernmental organization established to provide financial assistance in the form of foreign currency loans, as well as providing financial advice.

The IMF was formed at the end of 1944 during the Bretton Woods conference, but actually began to function only in 1946. The purpose of creating the fund is to increase the stability of the monetary and financial system, as well as to strengthen trade relations between the economies of different countries.

The financial resources of the IMF are formed from systematic monetary contributions made by member countries of this organization, and the size of the quota is determined by the level of development of the economy of a particular state. The same parameter affects the maximum amount of money that can be issued by the fund as a loan to a particular country. The number of votes that a participating country receives when voting directly depends on the size of the quota (the amount of money contributed to the fund).

Features of the provision of financial assistance

Acting as a guarantor of the stability of the global financial system, the IMF provides assistance to those countries whose economies are unstable for one reason or another. Along with consultations and meetings, the IMF provides financial assistance in the form of loans that are issued for a period of 3 to 5 years at a certain percentage. The entire loan amount is divided into certain parts - tranches, which allows the IMF to better control the fulfillment by the borrower of the loan obligations assumed.

Before issuing a loan, the representatives of the Fund must verify the reality of the threat of a crisis in the country, for which they analyze economic indicators: unemployment and inflation, prices, tax revenues, and so on. Based on the results of the statistical data, a report is compiled, which is discussed at a meeting of the IMF Executive Board. The decision to issue a loan is made on the basis of an open vote of representatives of the countries participating in the Fund.

The task of the International Monetary Fund is to maintain the stability of the world financial and economic system. Along with this, the IMF is also entrusted with the collection and processing of statistical data relating to international payments, foreign exchange reserves, inflation, public finance, money circulation and foreign exchange resources. The fundamental objectives of the International Monetary Fund are:

  • Expansion and balanced growth of international trade, which improves the economic performance of each of the member states of the fund.
  • Development of international cooperation in the field of monetary and financial relations through consultations and meetings with the aim of solving international monetary and financial problems.
  • Maintaining the stability of the world's leading currencies, preventing devaluation and other negative aspects in different countries.
  • Creation of a multilateral system of international settlements for trade transactions in order to eliminate restrictions and obstacles in the development of the world economy.
  • Correction of imbalances in the balance of payments of countries with developing economies by providing them with loans from the general resources of the Fund.

Currently, the IMF includes over 180 states, including the Russian Federation, which became a member of the fund in 1992. In 2005, Russia paid off its debt to the International Monetary Fund ahead of schedule, thanks to which it acquired the status of a creditor, at the same time increasing the quota for contributions and strengthening its influence in the organization.

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) was established in 1944 at a conference in Bretton Woods in the United States. Its goals were originally declared as follows: promoting international cooperation in the field of finance, expanding and growing trade, ensuring the stability of currencies, assisting in settlements between member countries and providing them with funds in order to correct imbalances in the balance of payments. However, in practice, the Fund's activities are reduced to acquisitiveness for a minority (countries and which, among other organizations, controls the IMF. Have the IMF loans, or the IMF (International Monetary Fund) help, needy states? How does the Fund's work affect the global economy?

IMF: deciphering the concept, functions and tasks

IMF stands for International Monetary Fund, IMF (abbreviation decoding) in the Russian version looks like this: International Monetary Fund. This is designed to promote monetary cooperation on the basis of advising its members and allocating loans to them.

The objective of the Fund is to secure a solid parity of currencies. To this end, the Member States have established them in gold and US dollars, agreeing not to change them by more than ten percent without the consent of the Fund and not to deviate from this balance when carrying out transactions by more than one percent.

History of foundation and development of the Fund

In 1944, at the Bretton Woods conference in the United States, representatives of forty-four countries decided to create a common base for economic cooperation in order to avoid the devaluation that followed the Great Depression in the thirties, as well as to restore the financial system between states after the war. The following year, based on the results of the conference, the IMF was created.

The USSR also took an active part in the conference and signed the Act on the establishment of the organization, but subsequently did not ratify it and did not participate in the activities. But in the nineties, after the collapse of the Soviet Union, Russia and other countries - the former Soviet republics joined the IMF.

In 1999, the IMF already included 182 countries.

Governing bodies, structure and participating countries

The headquarters of the UN specialized organization - the IMF - is located in Washington. The governing body of the International Monetary Fund is the Board of Governors. It includes the actual manager and deputy from each member country of the Fund.

The Executive Board consists of 24 directors representing groups of countries or individual participating countries. At the same time, the managing director is always a European, and his first deputy is an American.

The authorized capital is formed at the expense of contributions from states. Currently, the IMF includes 188 countries. Based on the size of the paid quotas, their votes are distributed among the countries.

IMF data show that the largest number of votes belongs to the United States (17.8%), Japan (6.13%), Germany (5.99%), Great Britain and France (4.95% each), Saudi Arabia (3 .22%), Italy (4.18%) and Russia (2.74%). Thus, the US, as having the most votes, is the only country that has the most important issues discussed in the IMF. And many European countries (and not only them) simply vote in the same way as the United States of America.

The role of the Fund in the global economy

The IMF constantly monitors the financial and monetary policies of member countries and the state of the economy around the world. To this end, consultations are held every year with government organizations regarding exchange rates. On the other hand, member states should consult with the Fund on macroeconomic matters.

The IMF provides loans to countries in need, offering countries that they can use for a variety of purposes.

In the first twenty years of its existence, the Fund gave loans mainly to developed countries, but then this activity was reoriented to developing countries. It is interesting that from about the same time, the neo-colonial system in the world began its formation.

Conditions for countries to receive a loan from the IMF

In order for the member states of the organization to receive a loan from the IMF, they must fulfill a number of political and economic conditions.

This trend was formed in the eighties of the twentieth century, and over time only continues to tighten.

The IMF Bank requires the implementation of programs that, in fact, lead not to the country's exit from the crisis, but to the curtailment of investments, the cessation of economic growth and the deterioration of citizens in general.

It is noteworthy that in 2007 there was a severe crisis of the IMF organization. The deciphering of the 2008 global economic downturn is said to have been its consequence. No one wanted to take loans from the organization, and those countries that had received them earlier sought to repay their debts ahead of schedule.

But there was a global crisis, everything fell into place, and even more. The IMF has tripled its resources as a result and has an even greater impact on the global economy.

The International Monetary Fund (IMF), (International Monetary Fund, IMF) is an intergovernmental organization designed to regulate monetary and credit relations between states and provide financial assistance to member countries to eliminate currency difficulties caused by imbalances in the balance of payments. The IMF was established at the International Monetary and Financial Conference (July 1-22, 1944) in Bretton Woods (USA, New Hampshire). The Foundation began its practical activities on March 1, 1947.

The USSR also took part in the work of the Bretton Woods Conference. However, later, in connection with the "cold war" between East and West, he did not ratify the Agreement on the formation of the IMF. For the same reason, during the 50-60s. Poland, Czechoslovakia and Cuba left the IMF. As a result of deep socio-economic and political reforms in the early 90s. former socialist countries, as well as states that were previously part of the USSR, joined the IMF (with the exception of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea and Cuba).

There are currently 182 member states of the IMF (see Chart 4). Any country pursuing an independent foreign policy and ready to accept the rights and obligations stipulated by the IMF Charter can become a member of the organization.

The official objectives of the IMF are:

  • promote the balanced growth of international trade;
  • maintain the stability of exchange rates;
  • contribute to the creation of a multilateral system of settlements for current transactions between members of the Fund and the elimination of foreign exchange restrictions that hinder the growth of international trade;
  • provide member countries with credit resources that allow them to regulate the imbalance of temporary payments without using restrictive measures in the field of foreign trade and settlements;
  • serve as a forum for consultation and cooperation in the field of international monetary issues.

Responsible for the smooth operation of the global monetary and payment system, the Fund pays special attention to the state of liquidity on a global scale, i.e. the level and composition of reserves held by Member States to cover trade and payment needs. One of the important functions of the Fund is also to provide additional liquidity to its members through the allocation of special drawing rights (SDRs). SDR (or SDR) is an international currency unit used as a conditional scale for measuring international claims and obligations, establishing currency parity and exchange rate, as an international means of payment and reserve. The value of the SDR is determined on the basis of the average value of the five major currencies of the world (before January 1, 1981 - sixteen currencies). The determination of the share of each currency is made taking into account the country's share in international trade, but for the US dollar, its share in international settlements is taken into account. So far, 21.4 billion SDRs have been issued with a total value of about $29 billion, which is about 2% of all reserves.

The Fund has significant general resources to finance temporary imbalances in the balance of payments of its members. To use them, a member must provide the Fund with a strong justification for the need that has arisen, which may be related to the balance of payments, reserve position or changes in reserves. The IMF provides its resources on the basis of equality and non-discrimination, taking into account the social and domestic political goals of member countries. The Fund's policy enables them to use IMF financing at an early stage of balance of payments problems.

At the same time, the Fund's assistance contributes to overcoming imbalances in payments without the application of trade and payment restrictions. The Fund plays a catalytic role as changes in government policies in the implementation of IMF-supported programs help attract additional financial assistance from other sources. Finally, the Fund acts as a financial intermediary, ensuring the redistribution of funds from those countries where there is a surplus of them to countries where there is a deficit.

IMF Governance Structure

1. The highest governing body is the Board of Governors, in which each member country is represented by a Governor and his deputy. In most cases, the Fund's managers are finance ministers or central bankers or other persons of the same official position. The Board of Governors elects a chairman from among its members. The competence of the council includes the resolution of the most important, fundamental issues of the IMF's activities, such as the admission and expulsion of members of the Fund, the determination and revision of quotas, the distribution of net income, and the selection of executive directors. The Governors meet once a year to discuss the activities of the Fund, but they may vote at any time by mail.

The IMF is organized as a joint-stock company, and therefore the ability of each participant to influence its activities is determined by the share in the capital. In accordance with this, the IMF operates the principle of the so-called "weighted" number of votes: each member state has 250 "basic" votes (regardless of the amount of contribution to the Fund's capital) and an additional one vote for every 100 thousand SDR units of its share in this capital. In addition, when voting on certain issues, the creditor countries receive an additional one vote for every $400,000 of loans provided by them on the voting day, due to a corresponding reduction in the number of votes of the debtor countries. This arrangement leaves the decisive word in the management of the affairs of the IMF to the countries that have invested the largest funds in it.

Decisions in the Board of Governors of the IMF are generally taken by a simple majority (at least half) of the votes, and on the most important issues (for example, amending the Charter, establishing and revising the size of the shares of member countries in the capital, a number of issues of the functioning of the SDR mechanism, policies in the field of exchange rates, etc.) by "special (qualified) majority", currently providing for two categories: 70% and 85% of the total votes of member countries.

The current Charter of the IMF provides that the Board of Governors may decide to establish a new permanent governing body - the Council at the ministerial level of member countries to oversee the regulation and adaptation of the world monetary system. But it has not yet been established, and its role is played by the 22-member Interim Committee of the Board of Governors on the World Monetary System, established in 1974. However, unlike the proposed Council, the Interim Committee does not have the power to make policy decisions.

2. The Board of Governors delegates many of its powers to the Executive Board, i.e. The Directorate, which is responsible for the conduct of the Foundation's business and operates from its Washington headquarters.

3. The IMF Executive Board appoints a Managing Director who heads the Fund's administrative apparatus and is in charge of day-to-day affairs. Traditionally, the managing director must be European or (at least) non-American. Since 2000, the Managing Director of the IMF is Horst Keller (Germany).

4. The IMF Committee on Balance of Payments Statistics, which includes representatives from industrialized and developing countries. It develops recommendations for a wider use of statistical data in the compilation of balance of payments, coordinates the conduct of a basic statistical survey of portfolio investment, and carries out studies on the registration of flows associated with derivative funds.

Capital. The capital of the IMF is made up of subscription contributions from member countries. Each country has a quota expressed in SDRs. A member's quota is the most important element of its financial and organizational relationship with the Fund. First, the quota determines the number of votes in the Fund. Secondly, the size of the quota is based on the extent of access of the IMF member to the financial resources of the organization in accordance with the established limits. Third, the quota determines the share of the IMF member in the allocation of SDRs. The Charter does not provide methods for determining IMF membership quotas. At the same time, from the very beginning, the size of quotas was linked, although not on a rigid basis, with such economic factors as national income and the volume of foreign trade and payments. The Ninth General Review of Quotas used a set of five formulas agreed upon during the Eighth General Review to produce "estimated quotas" that serve as a general measure of the relative position of IMF members in the global economy. These formulas use economic data on a government's gross domestic product (GDP), current operations, fluctuations in current receipts, and government reserves.

The United States, as the country with the highest economic performance, made the largest contribution to the IMF, accounting for about 18% of the total amount of quotas (about $35 billion); Palau, which joined the IMF in December 1997, has the smallest quota and contributed about $3.8 million.

Prior to 1978, 25% of the quota was paid in gold, currently in reserve assets (SDRs or freely usable currencies); 75% of the subscription amount - in national currency, usually provided to the Fund in the form of promissory notes.

The IMF Charter provides that in addition to its own capital, which is the main source of financing its activities, the Fund has the ability to use borrowed funds in any currency and from any source, i.e. borrow them both from official bodies and in the private market for loan capital. To date, the IMF has received loans from the treasuries and central banks of member countries, as well as from Switzerland, which was not a member until May 1992, and from the Bank for International Settlements (BIS). As for the private money market, he has not yet resorted to its services.

Lending activities of the IMF. Financial operations of the IMF are carried out only with the official bodies of member countries - treasuries, central banks, foreign exchange stabilization funds. The Fund's resources can be made available to its members through a variety of approaches and mechanisms, differing mainly in terms of the types of balance of payments deficit financing problems, as well as the level of conditionality put forward by the IMF. Moreover, these conditions are a composite criterion that includes three separate elements: the state of the balance of payments, the balance of international reserves and the dynamics of the reserve position of countries. These three elements, which determine the need for balance of payments financing, are considered independent, and each of them can serve as the basis for submitting a request for funding to the Fund.

A country in need of a foreign currency purchases a freely usable currency or SDR in exchange for an equivalent amount of its national currency, which is credited to the IMF account at the country's central bank.

The IMF charges borrowing countries a one-time fee of 0.5% of the transaction amount and a certain fee, or interest rate, for the loans it provides, which is based on market rates.

After the expiration of the specified period, the member country is obliged to perform the reverse operation - to redeem its national currency from the Fund, returning to it the borrowed funds. Usually this operation, which in practice means the repayment of the previously received loan, must be carried out within a period of 3 1/4 to 5 years from the date of purchase of the currency. In addition, the borrowing country must redeem its excess currency for the Fund ahead of schedule as its balance of payments improves and foreign exchange reserves increase. Loans are also considered repaid if the national currency of the debtor country held by the IMF is bought by another member state.

Member countries' access to IMF credit resources is limited by some nuances. According to the original Charter, they were as follows: firstly, the amount of currency received by a member country in the twelve months preceding its new application to the Fund, including the amount requested, should not exceed 25% of the country's quota; secondly, the total amount of the country's currency in the assets of the IMF could not exceed 200% of the value of its quota (including 75% of the quota contributed to the Fund by subscription). In the 1978 revised Charter, the first limitation was removed. This allowed member countries to use their IMF foreign exchange opportunities in a shorter period than the five years previously required. As for the second condition, in exceptional circumstances its operation may also be suspended.

Technical assistance. The International Monetary Fund also provides technical assistance to member countries. It is carried out by sending missions to the central banks, ministries of finance and statistical bodies of countries that have requested such assistance, sending experts to these bodies for 2-3 years, and conducting an examination of draft legislative documents. Technical assistance is expressed in the IMF's assistance to member countries in the field of monetary, foreign exchange policy and banking supervision, statistics, development of financial and economic legislation and training.

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) is a special agency of the United Nations, established by 184 states. The IMF was created on December 27, 1945 after the signing by 28 states of an agreement developed at the UN Monetary and Financial Conference in Bretton Woods on July 22, 1944. In 1947, the foundation began its activities. The headquarters of the IMF is located in Washington, USA.

The IMF is an international organization that unites 184 states. The fund was created to ensure international cooperation in the monetary sphere and maintain the stability of exchange rates; supporting economic development and employment levels in countries around the world; and providing additional funds to the economy of a state in the short term. Since the IMF was created, its purposes have not changed, but its functions - which include monitoring the state of the economy, financial and technical assistance to countries - have evolved significantly to meet the changing goals of the member countries that are the subjects of the world economy.

IMF Membership Growth, 1945-2003
(number of countries)

The objectives of the International Monetary Fund are:

  • To ensure international cooperation in the monetary sphere through a network of permanent institutions that advise and take part in solving many financial problems.
  • To promote the development and balanced growth of international trade, and to contribute to the promotion and maintenance of a high level of employment and real incomes and to develop the productive forces in all member countries of the fund as the primary objects of economic policy.
  • Ensure the stability of exchange rates, maintain correct exchange agreements between participants and avoid various discriminations in this area.
  • Help build a multilateral payment system for current transactions between fund member countries and to remove restrictions on foreign exchange that hinder the growth of international trade.
  • Provide support to member states of the fund by providing funds to the fund to solve temporary problems in the economy.
  • In line with the above, shorten the duration and reduce the degree of imbalance in the international balances of the accounts of its members.

Role of the International Monetary Fund

The IMF helps countries develop their economies and implement selected economic projects through three main functions - lending, technical assistance and monitoring.

Providing loans. The IMF provides financial assistance to low-income countries experiencing balance of payments problems through the Poverty Reduction and Growth Facility (PRGF) program and, for temporary needs arising from external shocks, through the Exogenous Shocks Facility (ESF) program. The interest rate on PRGF and ESF is concessional (only 0.5 percent) and loans are repaid over 10 years.

Other functions of the IMF:

  • promotion of international cooperation in monetary policy
  • expansion of world trade
  • stabilization of monetary exchange rates
  • advising debtor countries (debtors)
  • development of international financial statistics standards
  • collection and publication of international financial statistics

Main lending mechanisms

1. Reserve share. The first portion of foreign currency that a member country can purchase from the IMF within 25% of the quota was called "gold" before the Jamaica Agreement, and since 1978 - the reserve share (Reserve Tranche). The reserve share is defined as the excess of the quota of a member country over the amount in the account of the National Currency Fund of that country. If the IMF uses part of the national currency of a member country to provide loans to other countries, then the reserve share of such a country increases accordingly. The outstanding amount of loans made by a member country to the Fund under the NHS and NHA loan agreements constitutes its credit position. The reserve share and lending position together constitute the "reserve position" of an IMF member country.

2. Credit shares. Funds in foreign currency that can be purchased by a member country in excess of the reserve share (in case of its full use, the IMF's holdings in the country's currency reach 100% of the quota) are divided into four credit shares, or tranches (Credit Tranches), which make up 25% of the quota . Member countries' access to IMF credit resources within the framework of credit shares is limited: the amount of the country's currency in the IMF's assets cannot exceed 200% of its quota (including 75% of the quota paid by subscription). Thus, the maximum amount of credit that a country can receive from the Fund as a result of using the reserve and loan shares is 125% of its quota. However, the charter gives the IMF the right to suspend this restriction. On this basis, the Fund's resources in many cases are used in amounts exceeding the limit fixed in the statute. Therefore, the concept of "upper credit shares" (Upper Credit Tranches) began to mean not only 75% of the quota, as in the early period of the IMF, but amounts exceeding the first credit share.

3. Stand-by Arrangements (since 1952) provide a member country with a guarantee that, up to a certain amount and for the duration of the arrangement, subject to specified conditions, the country can freely receive foreign currency from the IMF in exchange for the national one. This practice of granting loans is the opening of a line of credit. If the use of the first credit share can be made in the form of a direct purchase of foreign currency after the approval of the request by the Fund, then the allocation of funds against the upper credit shares is usually carried out through arrangements with member countries on standby credits. From the 50s to the mid-70s, stand-by credit agreements had a term of up to a year, since 1977 - up to 18 months and even up to 3 years due to the increase in balance of payments deficits.

4. The Extended Fund Facility (since 1974) supplemented the reserve and credit shares. It is designed to provide loans for longer periods and in larger amounts in relation to quotas than under normal loan shares. The basis for a country's request to the IMF for a loan under extended lending is a serious imbalance in the balance of payments caused by adverse structural changes in production, trade or prices. Extended loans are usually provided for three years, if necessary - up to four years, in certain portions (tranches) at fixed intervals - once every six months, quarterly or (in some cases) monthly. The main purpose of stand-by and extended loans is to assist IMF member countries in implementing macroeconomic stabilization programs or structural reforms. The Fund requires the borrowing country to fulfill certain conditions, and the degree of their rigidity increases as you move from one credit share to another. Certain conditions must be met before obtaining a loan. The obligations of the borrowing country, which provide for the implementation of appropriate financial and economic measures, are recorded in the "Letter of intent" or the Memorandum of Economic and Financial Policies sent to the IMF. The course of fulfillment of obligations by the country - the recipient of the loan is monitored by periodically evaluating the special target performance criteria provided for by the agreement. These criteria can be either quantitative, referring to certain macroeconomic indicators, or structural, reflecting institutional changes. If the IMF considers that a country uses a loan in contradiction with the goals of the Fund, does not fulfill its obligations, it may limit its lending, refuse to provide the next tranche. Thus, this mechanism allows the IMF to exert economic pressure on borrowing countries.

Unlike the World Bank, the IMF focuses on relatively short-term macroeconomic crises. The World Bank lends only to poor countries, the IMF can lend to any of its member countries that lack foreign exchange to cover short-term financial obligations.

Structure of governing bodies

The supreme governing body of the IMF is the Board of Governors, in which each member country is represented by a governor and his deputy. Usually these are finance ministers or central bankers. The Council is responsible for resolving key issues of the Fund's activities: amending the Articles of the Agreement, admitting and expelling member countries, determining and revising their shares in the capital, and electing executive directors. The Governors meet in session, usually once a year, but may meet and vote by mail at any time.

The authorized capital is about 217 billion SDRs (as of January 2008, 1 SDR was equal to about 1.5 US dollars). It is formed by contributions from member countries, each of which usually pays approximately 25% of its quota in SDRs or in the currency of other members, and the remaining 75% in its national currency. Based on the size of quotas, votes are distributed among member countries in the governing bodies of the IMF.

The Executive Board, which sets policy and is responsible for most decisions, consists of 24 executive directors. Directors are nominated by the eight countries with the largest quotas in the Fund - the United States, Japan, Germany, France, the United Kingdom, China, Russia and Saudi Arabia. The remaining 176 countries are organized into 16 groups, each of which elects an executive director. An example of such a group of countries is the unification of the countries of the former Central Asian republics of the USSR under the leadership of Switzerland, which was called Helvetistan. Often the groups are formed by countries with similar interests and usually from the same region, such as francophone Africa.

The largest number of votes in the IMF (as of June 16, 2006) are: USA - 17.08% (16.407% - 2011); Germany - 5.99%; Japan - 6.13% (6.46% - 2011); UK - 4.95%; France - 4.95%; Saudi Arabia - 3.22%; China - 2.94% (6.394% - 2011); Russia - 2.74%. The share of 15 EU member countries is 30.3%, 29 member countries of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development have a total of 60.35% of the votes in the IMF. The share of other countries, which make up over 84% of the number of members of the Fund, accounts for only 39.65%.

The IMF operates the principle of "weighted" number of votes: the ability of member countries to influence the activities of the Fund by voting is determined by their share in its capital. Each state has 250 "basic" votes, regardless of the size of its contribution to the capital, and an additional one vote for every 100 thousand SDRs of the amount of this contribution. In the event that a country bought (sold) SDRs received by it during the initial issue of SDRs, the number of its votes increases (reduces) by 1 for every 400,000 purchased (sold) SDRs. This correction is carried out by no more than 1/4 of the number of votes received for the country's contribution to the Fund's capital. This arrangement ensures a decisive majority of votes for the leading states.

Decisions in the Board of Governors are usually taken by a simple majority (at least half) of the votes, and on important issues of an operational or strategic nature - by a "special majority" (respectively 70 or 85% of the votes of the member countries). Despite some reduction in the share of US and EU votes, they can still veto key decisions of the Fund, the adoption of which requires a maximum majority (85%). This means that the United States, together with the leading Western states, has the ability to exercise control over the decision-making process in the IMF and direct its activities based on their own interests. With coordinated action, developing countries are also in a position to avoid making decisions that do not suit them. However, it is difficult for a large number of heterogeneous countries to achieve coherence. At a meeting of Fund leaders in April 2004, the intention was to "enhance the ability of developing countries and countries with economies in transition to participate more effectively in the IMF's decision-making mechanism."

An essential role in the organizational structure of the IMF is played by the International Monetary and Financial Committee (IMFC; International Monetary and Financial Committee). From 1974 until September 1999, its predecessor was the Interim Committee on the International Monetary System. It consists of 24 IMF governors, including from Russia, and meets in its sessions twice a year. This committee is an advisory body of the Board of Governors and does not have the power to make policy decisions. Nevertheless, it performs important functions: directs the activities of the Executive Council; develops strategic decisions related to the functioning of the world monetary system and the activities of the IMF; Submits proposals to the Board of Governors to amend the Articles of Agreement of the IMF. A similar role is also played by the Development Committee - the Joint Ministerial Committee of the Boards of Governors of the WB and the Fund (Joint IMF - World Bank Development Committee).

Board of Governors (1999) The Board of Governors delegates many of its powers to the Executive Board, which is the directorate responsible for the conduct of the affairs of the IMF, which includes a wide range of political, operational and administrative matters, in particular the provision of loans to member countries and overseeing their exchange rate policies.

The IMF Executive Board elects for a five-year term a Managing Director who leads the Fund's staff (as of March 2009 - about 2,478 people from 143 countries). As a rule, he represents one of the European countries. Managing Director (since July 5, 2011) - Christine Lagarde (France), her first deputy - John Lipsky (USA). Head of the IMF Resident Mission in Russia - Odd Per Brekk.

We present to your attention a chapter from a monograph on the International Monetary Fund, which analyzes in detail the entire anatomy of this financial institution and its role in the global financial scheme.

Organization of the IMF

The International Monetary Fund, IMF (International Monetary Fund, IMF), like the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development, IBRD (later the World Bank), is a Bretton Woods international organization. The IMF and IBRD formally belong to the specialized agencies of the UN, but from the very beginning of their activity they rejected the coordinating and leading role of the UN, referring to the complete independence of their financial sources.

The creation of these two structures was initiated by the Council on Foreign Relations, one of the most influential semi-secret organizations traditionally associated with the implementation of the mondialist project.

The task of creating such structures matured as the end of the Second World War and the collapse of the colonial system approached. The question of the formation of a post-war international monetary and financial system and the creation of appropriate international institutions, in particular an interstate organization that would be designed to regulate currency and settlement relations between countries, became topical. The US bankers were especially persistent in this.

Plans for the creation of a special body to "streamline" currency and settlement relations were developed by the United States and Great Britain. In the American plan, it was proposed to establish a "United Nations Stabilization Fund", the member states of which would have to undertake obligations not to change, without the consent of the Fund, the exchange rates and parities of their currencies, expressed in gold and a special monetary unit, not to establish currency restrictions on current operations and not enter into any bilateral ("discriminatory") clearing and payment agreements. In turn, the Fund would provide them with short-term loans in foreign currency to cover current balance of payments deficits.

This plan was beneficial to the United States - an economically powerful power, with a higher competitiveness of goods compared to other countries and a stable active balance of payments at that time.

An alternative English plan, developed by the famous economist J. M. Keynes, envisaged the creation of an "international clearing union" - a credit and settlement center designed to carry out international settlements with the help of a special supranational currency ("bancor") and ensure balance in payments, especially between the United States and all other states. Within the framework of this union, it was supposed to preserve closed currency groupings, in particular the sterling zone. The aim of the plan, designed to preserve the position of Great Britain in the countries of the British Empire, was to strengthen its monetary and financial positions largely at the expense of American financial resources and with minimal concessions to the US ruling circles in matters of monetary policy.

Both plans were considered at the Monetary and Financial Conference of the United Nations, held in Bretton Woods (USA) from July 1 to July 22, 1944. Representatives of 44 states took part in the conference. The struggle that unfolded at the conference ended in the defeat of Great Britain.

The final act of the conference included the Articles of Agreement (charter) on the International Monetary Fund and on the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development. December 27, 1945 The Articles of Agreement on the International Monetary Fund officially entered into force. In practice, the IMF began operations on March 1, 1947.

The money for the creation of this supra-governmental organization came from J.P. Morgan, J.D. Rockefeller, P. Warburg, J. Schiff and other "international bankers".

The USSR took part in the Bretton Woods conference, but did not ratify the Articles of Agreement on the IMF.

IMF activities

The IMF is intended to regulate the monetary and credit relations of member states and provide short- and medium-term loans in foreign currency. The International Monetary Fund provides most of its loans in US dollars. During its existence, the IMF has become the main supranational body for regulating international monetary and financial relations. The seat of the governing bodies of the IMF is Washington (USA). This is quite symbolic - in the future it will be seen that the IMF is almost completely controlled by the United States and the countries of the Western alliance and, accordingly, in terms of management and operational terms - by the FRS. It is no coincidence, therefore, that the real benefit from the activities of the IMF is also received by these actors and, first of all, by the “club of beneficiaries” mentioned above.

The official objectives of the IMF are as follows:

  • “to promote international cooperation in the monetary and financial sphere”;
  • "to promote the expansion and balanced growth of international trade" in the interests of developing productive resources, achieving a high level of employment and real incomes of member states;
  • “ensure the stability of currencies, maintain orderly monetary relations among member states and prevent the depreciation of currencies in order to obtain competitive advantages”;
  • assist in the creation of a multilateral system of settlements between member states, as well as in the elimination of currency restrictions;
  • provide temporary foreign exchange funds to member states that would enable them to "correct imbalances in their balance of payments".

However, based on the facts characterizing the results of the IMF's activities throughout its history, a different, real picture of its goals is reconstructed. They again allow us to speak of a system of global money-grubbing in favor of a minority that controls the World Monetary Fund.

As of May 25, 2011, 187 states are members of the IMF. Each country has a quota expressed in SDRs. The quota determines the amount of capital subscriptions, the possibilities of using the resources of the fund and the amount of SDRs received by the member state at their next distribution. The capital of the International Monetary Fund has been steadily increasing since its inception, with the quotas of the most economically developed member countries increasing especially rapidly (Fig. 6.3).



The largest quotas in the IMF are the USA (42122.4 million SDRs), Japan (15628.5 million SDRs) and Germany (14565.5 million SDRs), the smallest - Tuvalu (1.8 million SDRs). The IMF operates the principle of a "weighted" number of votes, when decisions are made not by a majority of equal votes, but by the largest "donors" (Fig. 6.4).



Together, the US and Western alliance countries have more than 50% of the vote against a few percent of China, India, Russia, Latin American or Islamic countries. From which it is obvious that the former have a monopoly on decision-making, i.e. the IMF, like the Fed, is controlled by these countries. When critical strategic issues are raised, including reform of the IMF itself, only the United States has a veto.

The United States, along with other developed countries, has a simple majority of votes in the IMF. For the past 65 years, the countries of Europe and other economically prosperous countries have always voted in solidarity with the United States. Thus, it becomes clear in whose interests the IMF functions and by whom it implements its geopolitical goals.

Requirements of the Articles of Agreement (Charter) of the IMF/Members of the IMF

Joining the IMF necessarily requires the country to comply with the rules governing its foreign economic relations. The Articles of Agreement set out the universal obligations of member states. The statutory requirements of the IMF are aimed primarily at the liberalization of foreign economic activity, in particular, the monetary and financial sphere. It is obvious that the liberalization of the external economies of developing countries provides enormous advantages to economically developed countries, opening up markets for their more competitive products. At the same time, the economies of developing countries, which, as a rule, need protectionist measures, suffer heavy losses, entire industries (not related to the sale of raw materials) become inefficient and die. In section 7.3, statistical generalization allows you to see such results.

The Charter requires member states to eliminate currency restrictions and maintain the convertibility of national currencies. Article VIII contains the obligations of member states not to impose restrictions on payments on current balance of payments transactions without the consent of the fund, and also to refrain from participating in discriminatory exchange agreements and not resorting to the practice of multiple exchange rates.

If in 1978 46 countries (1/3 of the IMF members) assumed obligations under Article VIII to prevent foreign exchange restrictions, then in April 2004 there were already 158 countries (more than 4/5 of the members).

In addition, the IMF charter obliges member countries to cooperate with the fund in the conduct of exchange rate policy. Although the Jamaican amendments to the charter gave countries the opportunity to choose any exchange rate regime, in practice the IMF is taking measures to establish a floating exchange rate for leading currencies and peg the currencies of developing countries to them (primarily the US dollar), in particular, it introduces a currency board regime. ). It is interesting to note that China's return to a fixed exchange rate in 2008 (Figure 6.5), which caused strong IMF displeasure, is one of the explanations for why the global financial and economic crisis did not actually affect China.



Russia, in its “anti-crisis” financial and economic policy, followed the instructions of the IMF, and the impact of the crisis on the Russian economy turned out to be the heaviest not only in comparison with comparable countries of the world, but even in comparison with the vast majority of countries in the world.

The IMF exercises constant "strict surveillance" of the macroeconomic and monetary policies of member countries, as well as the state of the world economy.

For this, regular (usually annual) consultations are used with the government agencies of the member states about their exchange rate policies. At the same time, member states are obliged to consult with the IMF on macroeconomic and structural policy issues. In addition to traditional surveillance targets (eliminating macroeconomic imbalances, reducing inflation, implementing market reforms), the IMF, after the collapse of the USSR, began to pay more attention to structural and institutional changes in member states. And this already calls into question the political sovereignty of the states subjected to “supervision”. The structure of the International Monetary Fund is shown in fig. 6.6.

The highest governing body in the IMF is the Board of Governors, in which each member country is represented by a governor (usually finance ministers or central bankers) and his deputy.

The Council is responsible for resolving key issues of the IMF's activities: amending the Articles of Agreement, admitting and expelling member countries, determining and revising their shares in the capital, and electing executive directors. The Governors meet in session, usually once a year, but may meet and vote by mail at any time.

The Board of Governors delegates many of its powers to the Executive Board, i.e., the Directorate, which is responsible for the conduct of the affairs of the IMF, including a wide range of political, operational and administrative matters, in particular lending to member countries and overseeing their policies in the area of ​​the exchange rate.

Since 1992, 24 executive directors have been represented on the executive board. Currently, out of 24 executive directors, 5 (21%) have an American education. The IMF's Executive Board elects a Managing Director for a five-year term, who leads the Fund's staff and serves as Chairman of the Executive Board. Among the 32 representatives of the top management of the IMF, 16 (50%) were educated in the United States, 1 worked in a transnational corporation, 1 taught at an American university.

The Managing Director of the IMF, according to informal arrangements, is always European, and his first deputy is always American.

Role of the IMF

The IMF provides loans in foreign currency to member countries for two purposes: first, to cover the balance of payments deficit, that is, in fact, to replenish official foreign exchange reserves; secondly, to support macroeconomic stabilization and restructuring of the economy, and hence - to lend to government budget expenditures.

A country in need of foreign currency purchases or borrows foreign currency or SDRs in exchange for an equivalent amount in domestic currency, which is credited to the IMF's account with its central bank as a depositary. At the same time, the IMF, as noted, provides loans mainly in US dollars.

During the first two decades of its activity (1947–1966), the IMF lent more to developed countries, which accounted for 56.4% of the amount of loans (including 41.5% of the funds received by the UK). Since the 1970s The IMF has refocused its activities on lending to developing countries (Figure 6.7).


It is interesting to note the time limit (the end of the 1970s), after which the world neo-colonial system actively began to form, replacing the collapsed colonial one. The main mechanisms for lending at the expense of the IMF resources are as follows.

reserve share. The first "portion" of foreign currency, which a member state can purchase from the IMF within 25% of the quota, was called "gold" before the Jamaica Agreement, and since 1978 - a reserve share (reserve tranche).

credit shares. Funds in foreign currency, which can be acquired by a member state in excess of the reserve share, are divided into four credit shares or tranches (credit tranches), each constituting 25% of the quota. Member states' access to IMF credit resources within the framework of credit shares is limited: the amount of the country's currency in the IMF's assets cannot exceed 200% of its quota (including 75% of the quota contributed by subscription). The maximum amount of credit that a country can receive from the IMF as a result of using the reserve and lending share is 125% of its quota.

Stand-by stand-by arrangements. This mechanism has been used since 1952. This practice of providing loans is the opening of a credit line. Since the 1950s and until the mid 1970s. standby loan agreements had a term of up to a year, from 1977 - up to 18 months, later - up to 3 years, due to an increase in balance of payments deficits.

Extended Fund Facility has been in use since 1974. This facility provides loans for even longer periods (for 3–4 years) in larger amounts. The use of stand-by loans and extended loans - the most common credit mechanisms before the global financial and economic crisis - is associated with the fulfillment by the borrowing state of certain conditions that require it to carry out certain financial and economic (and often political) measures. At the same time, the degree of rigidity of the conditions increases as you move from one credit share to another. Certain conditions must be met before obtaining a loan.

If the IMF considers that a country is using a loan “contrary to the goals of the fund”, does not fulfill the requirements put forward, it can limit its further lending, refuse to provide the next loan tranche. This mechanism allows the IMF to effectively manage the borrowing country.

After the expiration of the established period, the borrowing state is obliged to repay the debt (“purchase” the national currency from the Fund) by returning the funds to it in SDRs or foreign currencies. Repayment of stand-by loans is made within 3 years and 3 months - 5 years from the date of receipt of each tranche, with extended lending - 4.5–10 years. In order to speed up the turnover of its capital, the IMF “encourages” faster repayment of loans received by debtors.

In addition to these standard facilities, the IMF has special lending facilities. They differ in purposes, conditions and cost of loans. Special lending facilities include the following. Compensatory lending facility, MCC (compensatory i nancing facility, CFF), is designed for lending to countries whose balance of payments deficit is caused by temporary and external reasons beyond their control. The Supplemental Reserve Facility (SRF) was introduced in December 1997 to provide funds to member countries experiencing "exceptional difficulties" with their balance of payments and in dire need of expanded short-term lending due to a sudden loss of confidence in the currency, which causes the flight of capital from the country and a sharp reduction in its gold and foreign exchange reserves. It is assumed that this credit should be provided in cases where capital flight could pose a potential threat to the entire global monetary system.

Emergency assistance is designed to help overcome the deficit in the balance of payments caused by unpredictable natural disasters (since 1962) and crises resulting from civil unrest or military-political conflicts (since 1995). The emergency financing mechanism, EFM (since 1995) is a set of procedures that ensure the accelerated provision of loans by the fund to member countries in the event of an emergency crisis in the field of international settlements, which requires immediate assistance from the IMF.

The Trade Integration Support Mechanism (TIM) was established in April 2004 in response to possible temporary negative consequences for a number of developing countries of the results of negotiations on further expansion of international trade liberalization within the framework of the Doha Round of the World Trade Organization. This mechanism is designed to provide financial support to countries whose balance of payments is deteriorating due to measures taken towards the liberalization of trade policies by other countries. However, IPTI is not an independent credit mechanism in the truest sense of the word, but a certain political setting.

Such a wide representation of the IMF's multi-purpose loans indicates that the fund offers borrowing countries its instruments in almost any situation.

For the poorest countries (those with GDP per capita below a set threshold) that are unable to pay the interest on conventional loans, the IMF provides concessional “aid” even though the share of concessional loans in total IMF lending is extremely small (Figure 6.8).

In addition, the implicit solvency guarantee provided by the IMF as a "bonus" along with the loan extends to more economically strong players in the international arena. Even a small IMF loan facilitates the country's access to the world loan capital market, helps to obtain loans from the governments of developed countries, central banks, the World Bank Group, the Bank for International Settlements, as well as from private commercial banks. Conversely, the refusal of the IMF to provide credit support to the country closes its access to the loan capital market. In such circumstances, countries are simply forced to turn to the IMF, even if they understand that the conditions put forward by the IMF will have deplorable consequences for the national economy.

On fig. 6.8 also shows that at the beginning of its activity, the IMF as a creditor played a rather modest role. However, since the 1970s there was a significant expansion of its lending activities.

Loan conditions

The granting of loans by the Fund to member states is connected with the fulfillment by them of certain political and economic conditions. This procedure was called the "conditionality" of loans. Officially, the IMF justifies this practice by the need to be sure that the borrowing countries will be able to repay their debts, ensuring the uninterrupted circulation of the Fund's resources. In fact, a mechanism for external management of the borrowing states has been built.

Since the IMF is dominated by monetarist, more broadly neoliberal, theoretical views, its “practical” stabilization programs usually include cutting government spending, including for social purposes, eliminating or reducing government subsidies for food, consumer goods and services (which leads to higher prices on these goods), increasing taxes on personal income (while reducing taxes on business), curbing growth or “freezing” wages, raising interest rates, limiting investment lending, liberalizing foreign economic relations, devaluing the national currency, followed by appreciation imported goods, etc.

The concept of economic policy, which is now the content of the conditions for obtaining IMF loans, was formed in the 1980s. in the circles of leading economists and business circles in the United States, as well as other Western countries, and is known as the "Washington Consensus".

It involves such structural changes in economic systems as the privatization of enterprises, the introduction of market pricing, and the liberalization of foreign economic activity. The IMF sees the main (if not the only) reason for the imbalance of the economy, the imbalance in international settlements of borrowing countries in the excess aggregate effective demand in the country, caused primarily by the state budget deficit and excessive expansion of the money supply.

The implementation of IMF programs most often leads to a curtailment of investments, a slowdown in economic growth, and an aggravation of social problems. This is due to the decline in real wages and living standards, the growth of unemployment, the redistribution of income in favor of the rich at the expense of less well-off groups of the population, and the growth of property differentiation.

As for the former socialist states, an obstacle to solving their macroeconomic problems, from the point of view of the IMF, are institutional and structural defects, therefore, when granting a loan, the Fund focuses its requirements on the implementation of long-term structural changes in their economic and political systems.

The IMF is pursuing a very ideological policy. In fact, it finances the restructuring and inclusion of national economies in global speculative capital flows, i.e. their "binding" to the global financial metropolis.

With the expansion of credit operations in the 1980s. The IMF has taken a course on tightening their conditionality. It was then that the use of structural conditions in IMF programs became widespread, in the 1990s. it has increased significantly.

It is not surprising that the recommendations of the IMF to the recipient countries in most cases are directly opposite to the anti-crisis policy of developed countries (Table 6.1), which practice countercyclical measures - the drop in demand from households and businesses in them is compensated by increased government spending (benefits, subsidies, etc.). n) by expanding the budget deficit and increasing public debt. In the midst of the global financial and economic crisis in 2008, the IMF supported such a policy in the US, the EU and China, but prescribed a different “medicine” for its “patients”. "31 of the 41 IMF bailout agreements are pro-cyclical, that is, tighter monetary or fiscal policy," says a report from the Washington-based Center for Economic and Policy Research.



These double standards have always existed and many times led to large-scale crises in developing countries. The application of the IMF recommendations is focused on the formation of a monopolar model for the development of the world community.

The role of the IMF in regulating international monetary and financial relations

The IMF periodically makes changes to the world monetary system. First, the IMF acted as a conductor of the policy adopted by the West at the US initiative to demonetize gold and weaken its role in the global monetary system. Initially, the IMF Articles of Agreement gave gold an important place in its liquid resources. The first step towards eliminating gold from the post-war international monetary mechanism was the cessation by the United States in August 1971 of gold sales for dollars owned by the authorities of other countries. In 1978, the IMF charter was amended to prohibit member countries from using gold as a medium of expression for the value of their currencies; at the same time, the official dollar price of gold and the gold content of the SDR unit were abolished.

The International Monetary Fund has played a leading role in expanding the influence of transnational corporations and banks in countries with transitional and developing economies. Providing these countries in the 1990s. borrowed resources of the IMF to a large extent contributed to the activation of the activities of transnational corporations and banks in these countries.

In connection with the process of globalization of financial markets, the executive board in 1997 initiated the development of new amendments to the Articles of Agreement of the IMF in order to make the liberalization of capital movements a special goal of the IMF, to include them in its sphere of competence, i.e. to extend to them the requirement to abolish foreign exchange restrictions. The Interim Committee of the IMF adopted at its session in Hong Kong on September 21, 1997, a special statement on the liberalization of capital movements, calling on the executive board to expedite work on amendments in order to "add a new chapter to the Bretton Woods agreement." However, the development of the world currency and financial crises in 1997-1998. slowed down this process. Some countries have been forced to introduce capital controls. Nevertheless, the IMF maintains a principled approach to the removal of restrictions on the international movement of capital.

In the context of the analysis of the causes of the 2008 global financial crisis, it is also important to note that the International Monetary Fund relatively recently (since 1999) came to the conclusion that it is necessary to extend its area of ​​responsibility to the sphere of functioning of world financial markets and financial systems.

The emergence of the IMF's intention to regulate international financial relations caused changes in its organizational structure. First, in September 1999, the International Monetary and Financial Committee was formed, which became a permanent body for strategic planning of the IMF on issues related to the functioning of the world monetary and financial system.

In 1999, the IMF and the World Bank adopted a joint Financial Sector Assessment Program (FSAP) to provide member countries with a tool to assess the health of their financial systems.

In 2001, the Department for International Capital Markets was established. In June 2006, the United Department of Monetary Systems and Capital Markets Department (MSCMD) was established. Less than 10 years have passed since the inclusion of the global financial sector in the competence of the IMF and from the beginning of its "regulation", when the most massive global financial crisis in history erupted.

The IMF and the global financial and economic crisis of 2008

It is impossible not to note one fundamental point. In 2007, this world's largest financial institution was in a deep crisis. At that time, practically no one took or expressed a desire to take loans from the IMF. In addition, even those countries that received loans earlier tried to get rid of this financial burden as soon as possible. As a result, the size of ordinary outstanding loans fell to a record for the 21st century. marks - less than 10 billion SDRs (Fig. 6.9).

The world community, with the exception of the beneficiaries of the IMF activities represented by the United States and other economically developed countries, actually abandoned the IMF mechanism. And then something happened. Namely, the global financial and economic crisis broke out. The number of new loan arrangements, which had been approaching zero before the crisis, increased at a rate unprecedented in the fund's history (Figure 6.10).

The crisis that began in 2008 literally saved the IMF from collapse. Is this a coincidence? One way or another, the global financial and economic crisis of 2008 was extremely beneficial for the International Monetary Fund, and therefore, for those countries in whose interests it functions.

After the 2008 global crisis, it became clear that the IMF needed to be reformed. By the beginning of 2010, the total losses of the global financial system exceeded $4 trillion (about 12% of the world's gross domestic product), two thirds of which are generated in bad assets of American banks.

In what direction did the reform go? First of all, the IMF tripled its resources. Since the London G20 summit in April 2009, the IMF has secured a whopping additional $500 billion in additional lending reserves, on top of the $250 billion it already has, although it is using less than $100 billion for aid programs. After the crisis it has become clear that the IMF wants to assume even more authority to manage the world economy and finances.

The trend is to gradually turn the IMF into a macroeconomic policy oversight body in almost every country in the world. It is obvious that in the conditions of such a "reform" new world crises are inevitable.

In this chapter of the monograph, the material of the dissertation of M.V. Deeva.