This memorandum discusses the ways the United States funds its participation in the international financial institutions (IFIs) - the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the multilateral development banks (MDBs.) The IFIs differ in the ways they fund their operations. Consequently, the...

The International Monetary Fund (IMF), conceived at the Bretton Woods conference in July 1944, has become the focal point of the international monetary system. Created in 1946 with 46 members, it has grown to include 184 countries. The IMF has six purposes that are outlined in Article I of the...

The U.S. is a member of five multilateral development banks (MDBs): the World Bank, Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), Asian Development Bank (ADB), African Development Bank (AFDB), and European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD). It also belongs to two related organizations, the...

The World Bank is to forgive $12.24 billion in IDA debt payments from HIPC borrowers. It has received $1 billion from the HIPC Trust Fund to help offset these losses, but still has a $11.6 billion unfunded liability. The IMF has gold worth $38 billion on hand for which it has no actual use. This...

The issue of selection of IMF (and other international financial institutions) has been heightened by the resignation of IMF Managing Director Horst Kohler. Controversy focuses on whether a 60-year old convention reserving the IMF leadership for a European (and the World Bank for a U.S. citizen)...