IMF’s Commitments to 2016 Bilateral Borrowing Agreements Hit $400bn

By Joseph INOKOTONG

The total pledges by International Monetary Fund (IMF) members under the 2016 bilateral borrowing agreements have reached about $400 billion.
These resources will help maintain IMF’s lending capacity.
A statement from the Fund said since the Annual Meetings in October 2016, further progress has been made in securing commitments to provide bilateral borrowed resources under the IMF’s 2016 borrowing framework.
It noted that the IMF has received additional commitments of about SDR 40 billion from nine members, bringing total commitments to about SDR 300 billion (US$400 billion) from 35 members.
Under these commitments, 20 borrowing agreements for a total of about SDR 211 billion are now effective with maximum terms through end-2020, it further stated.
In welcoming these commitments, Ms. Christine Lagarde, IMF Managing Director, said: “I am encouraged by the commitments received from the membership to provide bilateral resources under the new borrowing framework. Bilateral borrowing constitutes the Fund’s important third line of defense after quotas and the New Arrangements to Borrow (NAB). These commitments will preserve the overall lending capacity of the IMF and provide confidence that the Fund will continue to be able to address the needs of our membership.”