In discussing the June 2014 paper, Executive Directors broadly supported staff's proposal to introduce more flexibility into the Fund's exceptional access framework to reduce unnecessary costs for the member, its creditors, and the overall system. Directors' views varied on staff's proposal to...

The global financial safety net (GFSN) has become larger and more decentralized, creating a need for greater coordination. The expanded GFSN has created multiple sources of official financing for countries in need of support to address balance of payments shocks. Enhanced coordination among...

The Fund has made good progress over the past two years in integrating macrofinancial analysis into Article IV surveillance for a wide range of members. Building on past work to enhance financial sector analysis, Fund staff has sought to develop a consistent and forward-looking view on how the...

Effective Fund surveillance over the members of currency unions entails discussions at the regional level. This requirement derives from the fact that currency union members have devolved responsibility for policy areas that are central to Fund surveillance, notably monetary and exchange rate...

Niger's macroeconomic performance in 2010 was strong, mainly reflecting the exceptional 2010-11 harvest. The bumper crop and the completion of the year-long transition to democracy have also brightened the near-term economic outlook. The recently-adopted revised 2011 budget foresees an increase...

Background. The case for sovereign state-contingent debt instruments (SCDIs) as a countercyclical and risk-sharing tool has been around for some time and remains appealing; but take-up has been limited. Earlier staff work had advocated the use of growth-indexed bonds in emerging markets and...

Reform package. Comprehensive reform of Fund governance-encompassing quotas, ministerial engagement and oversight, the size and composition of the Executive Board, voting rules, management selection, and staff diversity-is essential to enhancing the Fund's long-term legitimacy and effectiveness....

The paper explores the pros and cons of maintaining the current 'freely usable currency' criterion, and clarifies indicators for assessing it. The freely usable concept and its two key elements-currencies should be "widely used" and "widely traded"-are set out in the Articles and serve important...