The International Monetary Fund provides loans for a period of time. International Monetary Fund. Its role in the global economy. IMF requirements for Ukraine

International currency board(IMF) is a special agency of the United Nations established by 184 countries. The IMF was created on December 27, 1945 after the signing of an agreement by 28 countries 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 countries. The fund was created to provide international cooperation in the monetary sphere and maintaining the stability of exchange rates; supporting economic development and employment levels in countries around the world; and providing additional in cash economy of a particular state in the short term. Since the IMF was created, its objectives 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 its member countries as actors in the global economy.

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

The objectives of the International Monetary Fund are:

Ensure international cooperation in the monetary field 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 high levels of employment and real incomes and the development of 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 discrimination in this area.
Help build a multilateral payments system for ongoing transactions between member countries and to remove restrictions on currency exchanges that impede the growth of international trade.
Provide support to fund member states by providing funds from the fund to solve temporary problems in the economy.
In accordance with the above, shorten the duration and reduce the degree of imbalance in the international balances of the accounts of its members.

The role of the International Monetary Fund

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

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

Other functions of the IMF:

promoting international cooperation in monetary policy
expansion of world trade
stabilization of monetary exchange rates
consulting debtor countries
development of international financial statistics standards
collection and publication of international financial statistics

Basic 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 “golden” 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 a member country's national currency to provide credit to other countries, that country's reserve share increases accordingly. The outstanding amount of loans provided by a member country to the Fund under the loan agreements of the NHS and NHS constitutes its credit position. The reserve share and the lending position together constitute the “reserve position” of an IMF member country.

2. Credit shares. Funds in foreign currency that can be acquired by a member country in excess of the reserve share (if fully used, the IMF's holdings in the country's currency reach 100% of the quota) are divided into four credit shares, or tranches (Credit Tranches), each constituting 25% of the quota . Member countries' access to IMF credit resources within the framework of credit shares is limited: the amount of a country's currency in the IMF's assets cannot exceed 200% of its quota (including 75% of the quota contributed by subscription). Thus, the maximum amount of credit that a country can receive from the Fund as a result of using reserve and credit 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 are in many cases used in amounts exceeding the limit fixed in the charter. Therefore, the concept of “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 the member country with a guarantee that, within a certain amount and during the term of the agreement, subject to the specified conditions, the country can freely receive foreign currency from the IMF in exchange for national currency. This practice of providing loans is the opening of a line of credit. While the use of the first credit share can be carried out in the form of an outright purchase of foreign currency after the Fund approves its request, the allocation of funds for the account of the upper credit shares is usually carried out through arrangements with member countries for reserve credits. From the 50s to the mid-70s, agreements on stand-by loans 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 large sizes in relation to quotas than within the framework of regular credit 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 specified intervals - once every six months, quarterly or (in some cases) monthly. The main purpose of stand-by loans 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 severity increases as they move from one loan share to another. Certain conditions must be met before receiving a loan. The obligations of the borrowing country, providing for its implementation of relevant financial and economic activities, are recorded in the “Letter of Intent” or Memorandum of Economic and Financial Policies sent to the IMF. The progress in fulfilling obligations by the country receiving the loan is monitored by periodically assessing the special performance criteria provided for in the agreement. These criteria can be either quantitative, relating to certain macroeconomic indicators, or structural, reflecting institutional changes. If the IMF considers that a country is using a loan in conflict with the goals of the Fund and is not fulfilling its obligations, it may limit its lending and 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's activities focus on relatively short-term macroeconomic crises. The World Bank provides loans only to poor countries, the IMF can provide loans to any of its member countries that lack foreign exchange to cover short-term financial obligations.

Structure of governing bodies

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

The authorized capital is about 217 billion SDR (as of January 2008, 1 SDR was equal to approximately 1.5 US dollars). It is formed by contributions from member states, each of which usually pays approximately 25% of its quota in SDRs or in the currencies of other members, and the remaining 75% in its own 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 appointed 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 groups are formed by countries with similar interests and usually from the same region, such as French-speaking countries in 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); Great Britain - 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 combined 60.35% of votes in the IMF. The share of other countries, making up over 84% of the Fund's membership, accounts for only 39.65%.

The IMF operates on the principle of a “weighted” number of votes: the ability of member countries to influence the Fund’s activities through 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 SDR of the amount of this contribution. If a country bought (sold) SDRs received during the initial issue of SDRs, the number of its votes increases (decreases) by 1 for every 400 thousand purchased (sold) SDRs. This adjustment is made by no more than 1/4 of the number of votes received for the country's contribution to the capital of the Fund. This arrangement ensures a decisive majority of votes for the leading states.

Decisions in the Board of Governors are usually made by a simple majority (at least half) of the votes, and on important issues of an operational or strategic nature - by a “special majority” (70 or 85% of the votes of member countries, respectively). Despite a slight reduction in the share of voting power of the US and EU, 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 leading Western countries, has the opportunity to exercise control over the decision-making process in the IMF and direct its activities based on their interests. With coordinated action, developing countries are also able to prevent decisions that do not suit them. However, achieving consistency a large number heterogeneous countries is difficult. At the Fund's April 2004 meeting, the intention was expressed to "enhance the ability of developing countries and countries with economies in transition to participate more effectively in the decision-making machinery of the IMF."

Significant role in organizational structure The IMF plays the International Monetary and Financial Committee (IMFC). 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 twice a year. This committee is an advisory body of the Board of Governors and has no 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 global monetary system and the activities of the IMF; submits to the Board of Governors proposals for amendments to the IMF's Articles of Agreement. A similar role is also played by the Development Committee - the Joint Ministerial Committee of the Boards of Governors of the World Bank 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, a directorate that is responsible for the conduct of the affairs of the IMF, which includes a wide range of political, operational and administrative issues, in particular the provision of loans to member countries and overseeing their exchange rate policies.

The IMF Executive Board elects a Managing Director for a five-year term, who heads the Fund's staff (as of March 2009 - about 2,478 people from 143 countries). Typically it represents one of European countries. Managing Director (since July 5, 2011) - Christine Lagarde (France), her first deputy is John Lipsky (USA). The head of the IMF permanent mission in Russia is Odd Per Brekk.

The International Monetary Fund is a financial institution that, despite its status as a special UN agency, has gained notoriety. What is the IMF, what are its functions according to its constituent documents and in reality, how fair are the critics who call the fund’s financial assistance destructive for the economies of the countries receiving credit?

Creation of the IMF, goals of the fund

The concept of a monetary fund, whose mission would be to support financial stability throughout the world, called the IMF Charter, was developed in July 1944 during the Bretton Woods Conference under the auspices of the United Nations, which resolved issues of international financial and monetary interaction after the apparent end of World War II war.

The date of creation of the IMF (English IMF, or International Monetary Fund) was December 27, 1945 - on this day, representatives of the first 29 IMF countries officially signed the final version of the relevant agreement. The organization's de facto activities began only on March 1, 1947, when France took out the first IMF loan. Today the IMF unites 188 countries, and the fund's headquarters is located in Washington.

According to Article 1 of the IMF Charter, the International Monetary Fund has the following goals:

promoting cooperation of all countries in the monetary and financial sphere, joint resolution of financial problems;

promoting the achievement and maintenance of high levels of real income and employment of the world's population, strengthening and developing the industrial and productive potential of all member states without exception through the expansion and growth of international trade;

maintaining the stability of the currencies of the member states, preventing the devaluation of national currencies;

assistance in the formation and functioning of a multilateral settlement system for financial transactions between member countries, in the abolition of currency restrictions that stand in the way of the growth of world trade;

by providing financial assistance to Member States, to enable them to eliminate imbalances in their balance of payments without introducing measures that could harm their national welfare;

reduce the duration of imbalances in the balance of payments of member countries, while simultaneously reducing the scale of these violations.

It is noteworthy that the so-called financial assistance of the fund is provided exclusively in the form of loans, but they are not provided for the implementation of specific projects. The interest on them is small (0.5% per annum), but often lending does not contribute to the development of the real sector of the economy and the production of competitive products. The following shows the provision of funds from the fund to various countries since 1972 for 40 years, i.e. from expiration date:

In the first post-war years, the main borrower of the fund was Europe to restore the economy damaged during the war. Since the early 1980s, the focus has shifted towards Latin America and Asia, and since the 1990s, Russia and the CIS countries have also played a prominent role in loans. Ukraine is still in constant contact with the fund. Finally, since the 2000s, loans have been flowing again to Europe - mainly Eastern Europe.

It is noteworthy that the time before the year was the most favorable in the world and the least favorable for the fund - very few loans were required, and accordingly, the IMF’s influence on the world economy and politics greatly decreased. However, already in 2011, lending quickly restored its volumes, which continued to grow further, including in connection with the Cyprus and Greek crises.

The IMF’s policy is clearly visible from the graph - to help all (and not just poor) countries, focusing on current problems. At the same time, by the way, the complete or almost complete absence of loans to African countries is interesting. Any country within the IMF is either a borrower of the fund, receiving and paying off the loan, or its creditor in accordance with its quota. It can be seen that, in addition to the decline before the last global crisis, the average historical amount of loans has grown over time - compared to the end of the 80s, Europe in 2012 borrowed about 5-6 times more.

In what currency are loans calculated? The fact is that the IMF has its own non-cash means of payment, called “special drawing rights” (Special Drawing Rights, SDR). The scale at the top is in billions of SDR. Formally, it is neither a debt obligation nor a currency.

Since 2016, the SDR rate has been pegged to a basket of 5 currencies and is similar to . Nevertheless, there are differences - perhaps the main thing is the presence of the Chinese yuan in the amount of almost 11% due to a decrease in the share of the euro. At the time of this article, the SDR rate is 1.45 US dollars. You can view it, for example, here: http://bankir.ru/kurs/sdr-k-dollar-ssha/.

Period	USD	EUR	CNY	JPY	GBP
2016–2020	(41.73%)	(30.93%)	(10.92%)	(8.33%)	(8.09%)

Functions of the IMF

Scroll modern functions The International Monetary Fund largely coincides with Article 1 of the IMF Charter:

expansion of international trade;

assistance to countries in the form of lending;

promoting interstate interaction in monetary policy;

assistance in the preparation (training, internship) of economic personnel;

stabilization of exchange rates;

advising debtor countries;

development and implementation of global financial statistics standards;

collection, processing and publication of these statistics.

It is interesting that prominent economists subject to reasoned criticism not only the methods of the IMF’s work with debtor countries (that is, those with outstanding debts to the organization), but also the quality of statistics published by the fund, as well as analytical reports.

Structure of the International Monetary Fund

Fund management and decisions on issuing loans are carried out by:

The Board of Governors is the name of the highest governing body of the International Monetary Fund. It includes two authorized persons from each member state - the manager and his deputy;

The Executive Board consists of 24 directors who represent certain member states or groups of countries. The head of the executive body - the managing director - is invariably the plenipotentiary representative of Europe, and his first deputy is a US citizen. Eight directors are delegated by states with the largest quotas in the IMF, the remaining 16 are elected by other participating countries, divided into the appropriate number of groups;

The International Monetary and Financial Committee is formally an advisory body consisting of twenty-four governors, including a representative of the Russian Federation. Performs, in particular, the function of developing strategic decisions relating to the global monetary and financial system;

The IMF Development Committee is another advisory body with similar functions.

IMF capitalization and sources of funds

As of March 1, 2016, the size of the IMF’s authorized capital was about 467.2 billion SDR. Capital is formed by contributions to the monetary fund of member countries, paying as a rule 25% of the quota in SDR (or one of the world currencies) and the remaining 75% in their own national currency. Quotas are constantly revised—there have already been 15 revisions since the foundation began its activities. In 2015, another change occurred with the delegation of about 6% from developed countries to developing countries.

Important: almost all real decisions are made by a majority of 85% of the votes. At the same time, approximately 17 percent quota (for 2016 contribution of about 42 billion SDR) belongs to the United States of America, giving it an exclusive veto right. Japan, which is in second place, has a quota almost three times lower - about 6%. Russia's share is 2.7% (contribution of about 6.5 billion SDR). So it is extremely difficult to call critics of the organization who claim “the IMF is the USA” wrong or biased.

In fact, the United States and the European Union, which often supports it, have a sufficient quota in the IMF to make the vast majority of decisions. The efforts of China, Russia and India to increase quotas in the fund in accordance with the increased weight of these countries in the world economy are met with opposition from the United States and its allies, who do not want to lose political influence on other IMF countries through the “conditionality” of loans - the presentation of mandatory political obligations to debtor states. -economic requirements.

However, one should not think that the financial problems of countries can be solved only with the help of IMF money. For example, the recent loan to Greece of more than 300 billion euros was financed by the IMF by less than 10% and amounted to only about 20 billion euros in euro terms. A much larger amount—€130 billion—was allocated by the European Financial Stability Fund, created in June 2010.

In addition to the quotas paid by the participating countries, the sources of financial resources of the Monetary Fund are:

gold holdings, according to official data amounting to about 90.5 million ounces and valued at 3.2 billion SDR. The organization accepts gold from participating countries mainly as payment for interest on loans, after which it has the right to use it to finance new loan tranches;

loans from “financially secure” member states;

funds from donor trust funds and lines of credit that open the fund to G7 and G20 countries.

Russia joined the IMF in June 1992, immediately resorting to obtaining a loan. According to eyewitnesses, during one of his first visits to the Kremlin, Clinton was amazed by the luxury of the halls and said to a colleague: “And these people are asking us for money?” Over 6 years (from August 1992 to early August 1998), Russia borrowed a total of more than $32 billion from the fund - however, the loans did not help us achieve either a projected reduction in inflation or prevent the August default of 1998. Russia repaid the loan from 2000 to 2005 years, taking advantage of rising oil prices, and since 2005 has become a creditor of the fund. The table below shows the distribution of loans in the 90s and the lender's requirements for Russia:

Financial assistance or credit needle?

Many experts argue that the recommendations of the creditor fund to the IMF borrowing countries de facto fundamentally contradict the principles and goals declared by the Charter. Instead of developing their productive potential, borrowing countries are hooked on the credit needle, and real incomes of the population do not increase - they fall.

Critics of the fund explain that the conditions for receiving IMF loans are often:

deprivation of the borrower state's right to freely issue national currency;

total privatization, including in areas of natural monopolies (housing and communal services, railway transport);

rejection of protectionist measures to protect our own producers and support for medium and small businesses;

freedom of movement of capital, allowing for their outflow abroad;

cutting costs for social programs, elimination of benefits for vulnerable segments of the population, reduction of salaries in the public sector and pensions.

However, the listed measures often only aggravate the crisis in the economy; impoverishment of the population leads to a decrease in consumption, leading to a decline in production, bankruptcy of enterprises and a deterioration in the state budget. As a result, the government has to take out new loans to pay off the previous ones.

Countries most affected by IMF dependence:

Rwanda, where the refusal of state support farms and the devaluation of the national currency led to a drop in incomes of the population, pushing it into the abyss civil war Hutus and Tutsis with 1.5 million victims;

Yugoslavia, which collapsed due to problems with the economic alignment of the regions;

Argentina, which declared twice;

Mexico is the birthplace of domesticated corn, which has turned from an exporter of this agricultural crop into an importer.

According to forecasts, this list may be supplemented by Ukraine, which is being forced by the creditor fund to increase gas prices. Its rise in price not only hits the pockets of citizens, but also completely negates the competitiveness of Ukrainian commodity producers, already undermined by the unfavorable Association Agreement with the EU. Ukraine, together with Romania and Hungary, is the largest current debtor to the International Monetary Fund.

But since history does not have a subjunctive mood, it is impossible to assess what the consequences will be in different countries would have resulted from a lack of funding from the IMF. So the position of the fund’s defenders is something like this: maybe things didn’t work out well in some places, but without the loan it would have been even worse. And critics of the fund are attacking not the very idea of providing a loan, but the conditions accompanying the loan - which in fact have an ambiguous effect on the economy and do not interfere with corruption, but in many ways look like an increase in the political influence of the main lender. And although the inefficiency of the current lending system is clear to almost everyone, real changes in such a cumbersome and politically important structure cannot happen “with the snap of a finger.” What is more useful or harmful from the IMF at the moment - everyone decides for himself.

IMF, or World Monetary Fund is a special institution created by the United Nations (UN) that helps improve international cooperation in the field of economics and finance, as well as regulates the stability of currency relations.

In addition, the IMF is interested in issues of developing trade, general employment, and improving the standard of living of the population of countries.

This structure is managed by 188 countries that are members of the organization. Despite the fact that the Fund was created by the UN as one of its divisions, it operates separately and has a separate Charter, management and financial systems.

History of the creation and development of the Foundation

In 1944, at a conference held in Bretton Woods in New Hampshire (USA), a commission of 44 countries decided to create the IMF. The prerequisites for its emergence were the following problematic issues:

formation of favorable “soil” for international cooperation on the world stage;
the threat of repeated devaluation;
“reanimation” of the world monetary system from the consequences of World War II;
and others.

However, the Foundation was officially created only in 1945. At the time of its creation there were 29 participating countries. The IMF has become one of the international financial organizations, established at that conference.

The other was the World Bank, the scope of which is somewhat different from the work areas of the Fund. But these two systems successfully interact with each other, and also assist each other in solving various issues at the highest level.

Goals and objectives of the IMF

When the IMF was created, the following goals of its activities were defined:

development of cooperation between countries in the field of international finance;
stimulation of international trade;
control over the stability of currency relations;
participation in the creation of a universal payment system;
provision of mutual assistance between IMF member states to those who are in difficult financial situations (with guaranteed fulfillment of the conditions for the provision of financial assistance).

The most important task of the fund is to regulate the balance of monetary and financial interaction between countries, as well as to prevent preconditions for the emergence of crisis situations, control over the level of inflation, and the situation on the foreign exchange market.

A study of financial crises of past years shows that countries, being in such a situation, become dependent on each other, and the problems of various sectors of one country can affect the state of a given sector of another country, or negatively affect the situation as a whole.

In this case, the IMF exercises supervision and control, and also provides timely financial assistance, allowing countries to pursue the necessary economic and monetary policies.

IMF governing bodies

The IMF developed under the influence of changes in the general economic situation in the world, so the improvement of the management structure occurred gradually.

So, the modern management of the IMF is represented by the following bodies:

The top of the system is the Board of Governors, which consists of two representatives from each participating country: the governor and his deputy. This governing body meets once a year at the Annual Meeting of the IMF and the World Bank;
The next link in the system is represented by the International Monetary and Financial Committee (IMFC), which consists of 24 representatives who meet twice a year;
The IMF Executive Board, which is represented by one member from each country, works daily and carries out its functions at the fund's headquarters in Washington.

The governance system described above was approved in 1992, when former members joined the IMF Soviet Union, significantly increasing the number of fund participants.

Structure of the IMF

The five largest countries (UK, France, Japan, USA, Germany) appoint executive directors, and the remaining 19 countries choose the rest.

The first person of the foundation is simultaneously the head of staff and the chairman of the executive board of the foundation, has 4 deputies, and is appointed by the board for a period of 5 years.

At the same time, managers can nominate candidates for this post, or self-nominate.

Basic lending mechanisms

Over the years, the IMF has developed several lending methods that have been tested in practice.

Each of them is suitable for a certain financial and economic level, and also provides an appropriate influence on him:

Non-concessional lending;
Stand-by loan (SBA);
Flexible credit line (FCL);
Preventive support and liquidity line (LPL);
Extended Credit Facility (EFF);
Rapid Financing Instrument (RFI);
Preferential lending.

Participating countries

In 1945, the IMF consisted of 29 countries, but today their number has reached 188. Of these, 187 states are recognized as participants in the fund in full, and one - partially (Kosovo). Full list IMF member countries are freely published online along with the dates of their entry into the fund.

Conditions for countries to receive a loan from the IMF:

The main condition for obtaining a loan is to be a member of the IMF;
An existing or possible crisis situation in which there is no possibility of financing the balance of payments.

The loan provided by the fund makes it possible to implement measures to stabilize the crisis situation, carry out reforms to strengthen the balance sheet and improve the economic situation of the state as a whole. This will become a guaranteed condition for the repayment of such a loan.

The Fund's role in the global economy

The International Monetary Fund plays a huge role in the global economy, expanding the spheres of influence of mega-corporations into countries with developing economies and financial crises, controlling foreign exchange and many other aspects of the macroeconomic policies of states.

Over time, the development of the fund is heading towards turning it into international body control over the financial and economic policies of many countries. It is possible that the reforms will lead to a wave of crises, but they will only benefit the fund, increasing the number of loans several times.

IMF and World Bank - what's the difference?

Despite the fact that the IMF and the World Bank were established at approximately the same time and have common goals, there are significant differences in their activities that need to be noted:

The World Bank, unlike the IMF, is concerned with improving living standards by financing hotel sectors on a long-term basis;
Financing of any activities occurs not only at the expense of the participating countries, but also through the issuance of securities;
In addition, the World Bank covers a wider range of disciplines and areas of action than the International Monetary Fund.

Despite their significant differences, the IMF and the World Bank actively cooperate in various areas, such as helping countries below the poverty line, holding joint meetings and jointly analyzing their crisis situations.

Strauss-Kahn continues to fight for political survival, with his supporters claiming the harassment allegations are a conspiracy. At the same time, the struggle for the post of leader has already begun within the International Monetary Fund (IMF). Countries with developing economies are demanding that this prestigious place go to them, but the Europeans are not giving up their claims either.

The International Monetary Fund is a $325 billion organization headquartered in Washington. Until very recently, the IMF had only one main issue - saving the euro. The fund's share of the aid packages for Greece, Ireland and Portugal amounts to 78.5 billion euros. Calmly and effectively, the fund acted as an intermediary between Europe's debtors and donors.

Following the arrest of IMF chief Dominique Strauss-Kahn on Saturday evening New York time, the fund itself has become a plaything for various interests. The once powerful head of the IMF continues to fight for his political survival. His supporters are spreading rumors and evidence that the attempted rape charge is a Secret Service-style conspiracy. DSK - as he is sometimes called for short - did not allegedly attempt to rape a maid at the New York Sofitel Hotel, as he was allegedly having lunch with his daughter at that time.

What is established is that nothing is established. The whole world believes that there should be no rush to condemn him. Federal Chancellor Angela Merkel also said yesterday that we need to wait for the results of the investigation.

She said so, but did it differently. A few minutes later, Merkel, speaking on behalf of Europe, announced her claims to the position of head of the IMF: although in principle this is correct, and in the “medium term,” according to Merkel, countries with developing economies can lay claim to leading positions in international organizations. "However, I believe that in modern conditions“When we have a lot of discussions about the European space, there are good reasons for Europe to have good candidates at its disposal,” she emphasized.

Because there is no cost to ignoring one's own interests, Merkel offered hope to emerging economies: “The existing conditions at the IMF must reflect the balance of power in the world,” Merkel said at the G20 summit in Seoul. Shortly before this, the world's 20 major economies decided to increase the share of votes of emerging economies. The words of the head of the Eurogroup, Jean-Claude Juncker, sounded even more definite. Strauss-Kahn is “the last European” to head the IMF “for the foreseeable future,” he said back in 2007.

Countries with developing economies responded joyfully to this Western opinion. It is high time to move away from a model dominated only by industrial states, said Brazilian Finance Minister Guido Mantega.

Now comes sobering up. And after sobering up, a struggle for power begins. Berlin yesterday announced that it was conducting soundings “with our European friends” on the issue of a candidate to head the IMF.

The struggle of countries with developing economies for greater influence in the IMF began even before Strauss-Kahn's arrest. In April this year, Brazil's finance minister complained that Americans regularly run the World Bank while Europeans run the IMF. Such a system, in his opinion, is already outdated. These posts should be allocated based on ability, and the process itself should be transparent, the Brazilian demanded.

In other words, those countries that drive global growth - that is, China, India, and also Brazil - should have a chance to occupy leadership positions in the future. The share of leading developing countries in global gross domestic product over the last 20 years alone (by 2010) has increased from 10.4% to 24.2%, while the share of the seven largest industrial countries, on the contrary, has decreased from 64.9% to 50 .7%.

Therefore, back in the fall, countries with developing economies received additional votes in the IMF. Finance ministers from the 20 largest industrial and emerging economies (G20) have decided to distribute almost 6% of the voting rights previously held by industrial powers to countries such as China, India, Brazil and Russia. As a result of the reform, these four countries received more rights and more responsibility in the executive directorate of the International Monetary Fund. This reform came into force in March.

Now they demand changes on a personal level. That is why, immediately after the events with Dominique Strauss-Kahn in New York, the name of the Turkish politician Kemal Dervis began to be mentioned more and more often. The architect of Turkey's economic reforms, which began a decade ago, and a longtime senior World Bank official, comes from an emerging economy and is considered a brilliant economist. Since he is from Turkey, he could presumably be involved in building bridges between Asia, Europe and the United States.

His work at the Washington-based World Bank gave him excellent connections. And in Europe he no longer has the image of a person who primarily protects the interests of Turkey. Kemal Dervis is now seen more as an international economist who happens to have a Turkish passport.

Dervis's name was already mentioned at the annual meeting of the Asian Development Bank, which took place almost a week ago in the Vietnamese city of Hanoi. Perhaps it's time for an Asian to head the IMF. Nobel laureate Joseph Stigliz also considers him an excellent candidate, as he said Monday in a private discussion.

The Chinese leadership is taking a rather restrained position in connection with Strauss-Kahn's impending departure, but in fact this scandal suits Beijing quite well - the European is leaving his post in disgrace, and this creates the conditions for reconsidering existing structures. The informal agreement among industrial nations that a European should always be at the helm of the International Monetary Fund is causing resentment among this rising economic power. From the Chinese point of view, this kind of arrangement is outdated and reminiscent of colonial times.

Americans and Europeans can share leadership positions between themselves because they together have enough votes to block other proposals. Even after the reform, China, being the second largest economy in the world, has 3.82% of the votes and is significantly behind the United States, which has almost 17%. These figures also reflect the share of capital invested. China would, of course, be willing to pay more for more influence, but existing rules, he can't do it.

That is why the Chinese, at meetings like the G20, constantly advocate for the introduction of a system that would more accurately reflect the economic realities existing in the world. They consider themselves fighters for the rights of other countries with developing economies, and, in addition, the Chinese secretly hope to secure a leading international role for themselves.

Other emerging economies, including India and Russia, have been much less ambitious about IMF reform. “They want to solve the problems they currently have, but they do not intend to rewrite the global rules of the game,” said Jean Pisani-Ferry, an economist at the University of Paris-Dauphine. China also assumes that it is not yet in a position to press its demands - after all, its own national currency is not yet freely convertible.

This is also why the idea is being discussed in French government circles to preserve the existing structures and instead of Strauss-Kahn, send to Washington the Minister of Finance, who has a good international reputation, Christine Lagarde. On paper she
looks like a good candidate: her work as a lawyer has brought her into contact with all the major figures in the financial world, and during the financial crisis she developed a reputation for herself as a charming but exceptionally tough negotiator. In addition, the post of head of the IMF could open up additional prospects for her - primarily taking into account the possible defeat of her boss Nicolas Sarkozy in the presidential elections in 2012. For now, judging by the official statements made, she plans to compete for the mandate of an ordinary member of parliament.

Her problem: “The DSK affair has undermined confidence in France and their candidates for high international positions,” according to Paris. DSK is an international abbreviation for Dominique Strauss-Kahn. In addition, Lagarde herself became a participant in a high-profile case, which, however, cannot be compared with the problems of Strauss-Kahn. She is accused of using her influence to achieve a favorable ruling for the famous French entrepreneur in a dispute between the state and Bernard Tapie over the sale of a stake in Adidas. This case has not received much international publicity, but it could become an obstacle if Lagarde aspires to head the IMF.

When we're talking about about such responsible positions as the head of the IMF, then the candidate will be scrutinized - and now for real - twice as carefully.

The International Monetary Fund, IMF, is primarily a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN), headquartered in Washington, USA. It is worth noting that although the IMF was created with the support of the UN, it is an independent organization.

The International Monetary Fund was created relatively recently - at the Bretton Woods Conference, on monetary and financial issues on July 22, 1944, the basis of the agreement was developed ( IMF Charter).

The most significant contributions to the development of the IMF concept were made by John Maynard Keynes, who headed the British delegation, and Harry Dexter White, a senior official at the US Treasury Department. The final version of the agreement was signed by the first 29 states on December 27, 1945 - the official date of the creation of the IMF. The IMF began operations on March 1, 1947, as part of the Bretton Woods system. In the same year, France took out its first loan. Currently, the IMF unites 187 countries, and its structures employ 2,500 people from 133 countries.

The IMF provides short- and medium-term loans when there is a deficit in the state's balance of payments. The provision of loans is usually accompanied by a set of conditions and recommendations aimed at improving the situation.

The IMF's policies and recommendations regarding developing countries have been repeatedly criticized, the essence of which is that the implementation of recommendations and conditions are ultimately not aimed at increasing the independence, stability and development of the national economy of the state, but only tying it to international financial flows.

international monetary fund lending

Main goals and functions of the IMF and structure of governing bodies

The main objectives of the International Monetary Fund are:

1. “the need to promote international cooperation in the monetary and financial sphere”;

2. “promoting the expansion and balanced growth of international trade” in the interests of developing productive resources, achieving high levels of employment and real incomes of member states;

3. “ensuring the stability of currencies, maintaining orderly monetary relations among member states” and striving to prevent “currency depreciation in order to gain competitive advantages”;

4. providing assistance in creating a multilateral settlement system between member states, as well as in eliminating currency restrictions;

5. temporary provision of foreign currency funds to Member States to enable them to “correct imbalances in their balance of payments.”

The main functions of the IMF are:

1. promoting international cooperation in monetary policy

2. expansion of world trade

3. lending

4. stabilization of monetary exchange rates

5. consulting debtor countries

6. development of standards for international financial statistics

7. collection and publication of international financial statistics

The authorized capital is about 217 billion SDR (special unit for the right to borrow) (as of January 2011, 1 SDR was equal to approximately 1.5 US dollars). It is formed by contributions from member states, each of which usually pays approximately 25% of its quota in SDRs or in the currencies of other members, and the remaining 75% in its own national currency. Based on the size of quotas, votes are distributed among member countries in the governing bodies of the IMF.

The largest number of votes in the IMF (as of June 16, 2010) are: USA - 17.8%; Germany - 5.99%; Japan - 6.13%; Great Britain - 4.95%; France - 4.95%; Saudi Arabia - 3.22%; Italy - 4.18%; 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 combined 60.35% of votes in the IMF. The share of other countries, making up over 84% of the Fund's membership, accounts for only 39.75%.

Despite a slight reduction in the share of voting power of the US and EU, 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 leading Western countries, has the opportunity to exercise control over the decision-making process in the IMF and direct its activities based on their interests. With coordinated action, developing countries are also able to prevent decisions that do not suit them. However, achieving consistency across a large number of disparate countries is difficult, so the intention was to “enhance the ability of developing countries and countries with economies in transition to participate more effectively in the decision-making machinery of the IMF.”

The International Monetary and Financial Committee plays a significant role in the organizational structure of the IMF. It consists of 24 IMF governors, including from Russia, and meets twice a year. This committee is an advisory body of the Board of Governors and has no power to make policy decisions. However, it performs important functions:

ь directs the activities of the Executive Council;

b develops strategic decisions related to the functioning of the global monetary system and the activities of the IMF;

b submits to the Board of Governors proposals for amendments to 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 World Bank and the Fund.

The Board of Governors delegates many of its powers to the Executive Board, a directorate that is responsible for conducting the affairs of the IMF, which includes a wide range of political, operational and administrative issues, such as providing loans to member countries and overseeing their policies. exchange rate.

The IMF Executive Board elects a Managing Director for a five-year term, who heads the Fund's staff (as of March 2009 - about 2,478 people from 143 countries). He must be a representative of one of the European countries. Managing Director (since November 2007) - Dominique Strauss-Kann (France), his first deputy - John Lipsky (USA).

The head of the IMF permanent mission in Russia is Neven Mathes.

Manager. Elected by the Executive Board, the IMF Governor chairs the Executive Board and is the organization's chief of staff. Under the direction of the Executive Board, the Governor is responsible for the day-to-day operations of the IMF. The manager is appointed for five years and may be re-elected for a subsequent term.

Staff. The Articles of the Agreement require personnel appointed to the IMF to demonstrate the highest standards of professionalism and technical competence, and reflect the internationality of the organization. Approximately 125 nations are represented among the organization's 2,300 employees.