Open market operations are the major instruments of monetary control in industrial countries and are becoming important in developing countriesand countries in transition. This paper shows how open market operationsare related to other monetary instruments, discusses the role of the market and...

This book includes 21 case studies of technical assistance provided by the IMF's former Monetary and Financial Systems Department during 2003-06. These studies cover issues related to monetary policy and operations, financial markets, payment systems, and financial regulation and supervision,...

This paper discusses Romania’s Request for a Stand-By Arrangement (SBA). Since the 2008 global financial crisis, Romania has made significant progress in reducing macroeconomic imbalances and rebuilding fiscal and financial buffers. However, Romania remains vulnerable to external shocks,...

It is shown how the frequency of central bank intervention in financial markets can affect the incentives for economic agents to acquire information, which will be reflected in market prices and thus become available to policy makers. The optimal frequency of intervention, and therefore the...

The IMF Working Papers series is designed to make IMF staff research available to a wide audience. Almost 300 Working Papers are released each year, covering a wide range of theoretical and analytical topics, including balance of payments, monetary and fiscal issues, global liquidity, and...

In light of the multilateral effort to ensure the adequacy of the financial resources available to the International Monetary Fund, and with a view to supporting the Fund's ability to provide timely and effective balance of payments assistance to its members, the Central Bank of Malta agrees to...

The last comprehensive discussion of reform of the international monetary system (IMS)-the set of official arrangements that regulate key dimensions of balance of payments-international reserves, exchange rates, current payments, and capital flows-was held nearly four decades ago. In light of...

This paper presents for the approval of the Executive Board a draft borrowing agreement between Norges Bank and the Fund. On March 28, the Finance Minister of Norway announced that the Ministry of Finance and Norges Bank (the central bank of Norway) were exploring a possible Norwegian...

The broader governance reform debate-which goes beyond quotas to issues such as engagement by high-level policymakers, Fund management selection, Board structure, rules and accountability-has not got very far in garnering a consensus at the Executive Board. This is the case even though, in...