Monetary fund. International Monetary Fund. Structure of governing bodies

IMF- intergovernmental monetary and credit organization to promote international currency cooperation based on consultations with its members and the provision of loans to them.

It was created by decision of the Bretton Woods Conference in 1944 with the participation of delegates from 44 countries. The IMF began functioning in May 1946.

The International Monetary Fund collects and processes statistical data on issues of international payments, foreign exchange resources, the amount of foreign exchange reserves, etc. The IMF Charter obliges countries, when receiving loans, to provide information about the state of the country's economy, gold and foreign exchange reserves, etc. In addition, the country that took out the loan must follow the IMF's recommendations to improve its economy.

The main task of the IMF is to maintain global stability. In addition, the IMF's responsibility is to inform all IMF members about changes in the financial and other member countries.

More than 180 countries of the world are members of the IMF. When joining the IMF, each country pays a certain amount of money as a membership fee, which is called a quota.

• education for lending to participating countries;
• determining the amount that a country can receive in case of financial difficulties;
• determining the number of votes that a participating country receives.

Quotas are reviewed periodically. The United States has the highest quota and, accordingly, the number of votes (it is just over 17%).

Procedure for granting loans

The IMF provides loans only to stabilize the economy and bring it out of the crisis, but not for economic development.

The procedure for granting a loan is as follows: provided for a period of 3 to 5 years at a rate slightly lower than the market one. The loan is transferred in parts, in tranches. The interval between tranches can be from one to three years. This procedure is designed to control the use of credit. If a country does not fulfill its obligations to the IMF, then the transfer of the next tranche is postponed.

Before providing a loan, the IMF carries out a system of consultations. Several representatives of the fund travel to the country that has applied for a loan, collect statistical information on various economic indicators (price levels, employment levels, tax revenues, etc.) and prepare a Report on the results of the study. The Report is then discussed at a meeting of the IMF Executive Board, which makes recommendations and proposals for improvement. economic situation countries.

• Promote the development of international cooperation in the monetary and financial field within the framework of a permanent institution providing a mechanism for consultation and collaboration over international monetary and financial problems.
• Contribute to the process of expansion and balanced growth international trade and through this achieve and maintain high level employment and real incomes, as well as the development of productive resources of all Member States.
• Promote currency stability, maintain an orderly exchange rate regime among Member States and avoid using currency devaluations to gain competitive advantage.
• Assist in the establishment of a multilateral current account settlement system between member countries, as well as eliminating currency restrictions hampering growth.
• By temporarily making the general resources of the Fund available to member states, subject to adequate guarantees, create a state of confidence among them, thereby ensuring the ability to correct imbalances in their balance of payments without resorting to measures that could harm welfare at the national or international level.

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.

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

international monetary fund lending

1. 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 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 (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 governing bodies IMF.

The most big amount votes in the IMF (as of June 16, 2010) are held by: 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 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%.

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 some reduction specific gravity US and EU votes, they can still veto key decisions of the Fund, the adoption of which requires a maximum majority (85%). This means that the United States, along with leading Western states have 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.”

Significant role in organizational structure The IMF plays the International Monetary and Financial Committee. 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 does 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.

The International Monetary Fund (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 international organization, which unites 184 states. The Fund was created to ensure international cooperation in the monetary field and maintain 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. IMF provides financial assistance low-income countries experiencing balance of payments problems under the Poverty Reduction and Growth Facility (PRGF) programs and, for temporary needs arising as a result external influences, by the Exogenous Shocks Facility (ESF) program. Interest rate PRGF and ESF are concessional (only 0.5 percent), and loans are repaid within 10 years.

Other functions of the IMF:

• assistance 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 early period activities of the IMF, and 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 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."

The International Monetary and Financial Committee (IMFC) plays a significant role in the organizational structure of the IMF. 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). As a rule, he represents one of the European countries. Managing Director (since July 5, 2011) - Christine Lagarde (France), her first deputy is John Lipsky (USA). Chapter permanent mission IMF in Russia - Odd Per Brekk.

International Monetary Fund, IMF(eng. International Monetary Fund , IMF) is a specialized agency of the United Nations, headquartered in Washington, USA.

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 ¼ 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 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 across a large number of disparate 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."

Plays a significant role in the organizational structure of the IMF International Monetary and Financial Committee(IMFC; English) International Monetary and Financial Committee). 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).

The Board of Governors delegates many of its powers Executive Council(eng. Executive Board), that is, the directorate that is responsible for conducting the affairs of the IMF, including a wide range of political, operational and administrative issues, in particular the provision of loans to member countries and the supervision of their exchange rate policies.

The IMF Executive Board elects for a five-year term Managing Director(eng. Managing Director), who heads the staff of the Fund (as of March 2009 - about 2,478 people from 143 countries). As a rule, he represents one of the European countries. Managing Director (since July 5, 2011) is Christine Lagarde (France), her first deputy is John Lipsky (USA).

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 loan arrangements(since 1952) provide the member country with a guarantee that, up to a certain amount and for the duration of the agreement, subject to compliance with 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. Extended lending mechanism(eng. Extended Fund Facility) (since 1974) supplemented the reserve and credit shares. It is intended to provide loans for longer periods and in larger amounts in relation to quotas than within the framework of conventional loan 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 the 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.

It must be taken into account that votes when making decisions on the actions of the Fund are distributed in proportion to contributions. To approve the Fund's decisions, 85% of the votes are required. The US has about 17% of all votes. This is not enough to make an independent decision, but it allows you to block any decision of the Foundation. The US Senate could pass a bill that would prohibit the International Monetary Fund from doing certain things, such as making loans to countries. As the Chinese economist Professor Shi Jianxun points out, the redistribution of quotas does not at all change the basic framework of the organization and the balance of power in it, the US share remains the same, they have the right of veto: “The United States, as before, controls the order of the IMF.”

The IMF provides loans with a number of requirements - freedom of movement of capital, privatization (including natural monopolies - railway transport And public utilities), minimizing or even eliminating government spending on social programs - education, healthcare, cheaper housing, public transport and so on.; refusal of protection environment; wage cuts, restrictions on workers' rights; increasing tax pressure on the poor, etc. [ ]

According to Michel Chosudovsky, [ ]

IMF-sponsored programs have since consistently continued to destroy the industrial sector and gradually dismantle the Yugoslav welfare state. The restructuring agreements increased the external debt and provided a mandate for the devaluation of the Yugoslav currency, which greatly affected the living standards of the Yugoslavs. This initial round of restructuring laid the foundations. Throughout the 1980s, the IMF periodically prescribed further doses of its bitter "economic therapy" as the Yugoslav economy slowly slipped into a coma. Industrial production reached a 10 percent drop by

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) was established simultaneously with World Bank at a conference of central bank economists and other government officials of the major trading powers at Bretton Woods (USA) in July 1944. The governments of 29 countries signed the IMF Agreement on December 27, 1945. The foundation began its activities on March 1, 1947. Has the status specialized institution UN.

The organization was created to restore international trade and create a stable global monetary system. The first country to receive IMF assistance on May 8, 1947, was France - it was allocated $25 million to stabilize the financial system that suffered during the German occupation.

Currently, the main tasks of the fund are coordinating the monetary and financial policies of member countries, providing them with short-term loans to settle balances of payments and maintain exchange rates.

IMF played important role in maintaining the functioning of the Bretton Woods agreements, which consisted of a fixed price for gold and fixed exchange rates to the dollar (freely exchangeable for gold). In the first decades, the IMF most often issued loans to European countries to support trade balance with the USA: Great Britain, France, Germany and other countries had to buy the dollar at a greatly inflated price due to its peg to gold (backing the dollar in gold in the 25 years after the end of World War II decreased from 55 to 22%). In particular, in 1966, the UK received $4.3 billion to prevent the devaluation of the pound sterling, but on November 18, 1967, the British currency still depreciated by 14.3%, from $2.8 to $2.4 per pound.

In 1971, the United States, due to growing military costs, abolished the free exchange of dollars for gold for foreign governments: the Bretton Woods system ceased to exist. She was replaced by new principle, based on free trading of currencies (Jamaican Monetary System). After that Western Europe there was no longer any need to buy the dollar, which was overvalued relative to gold, and resort to the help of the IMF to correct the trade balance. In this situation, the IMF switched to issuing loans to developing countries. The reasons were the crises of oil importers after the crises of 1973 and 1979, subsequent crises of the world economy and the transition to a market economy of the former socialist countries.

Beginning in the 1970s, the IMF began to actively put forward demands on borrowing countries to carry out structural economic reforms (the very possibility of making demands was introduced back in 1952). Among the typical conditions for the allocation of loans was a reduction in government funding Agriculture and industry, removal of barriers to imports, privatization of enterprises. IMF experts stated that these reforms will help states build an effective market economy, however, the UN Conference on Trade and Development, as well as many experts, pointed out that the fund’s actions only worsened the situation of states, in particular, leading to a significant decrease in food production and hunger. For a long time Argentina, which began borrowing money from the fund in 1985, was considered a model for the effective implementation of IMF recommendations, but in 2001, the state’s economic policy led to a default and a protracted crisis.

The main sources of financial resources of the IMF are quotas from member states of the organization. For domestic purposes, the IMF has issued a global reserve unit of payment since 1967, known as special rights borrowing (special drawing rights, SDR). It has a non-cash form, is used to regulate the balance of payments and can be exchanged for currency within the organization. The main source of financing for the IMF is the quotas of member countries, which are transferred upon joining the organization and can subsequently be increased. The total resource of quotas is 238 billion SDR, or about $368 billion, of which Russia’s share is 5.95 billion SDR (about $9.2 billion), or 2.5% of the total volume of quotas. The largest share belongs to the United States - 42.12 billion SDR (about $65.2 billion), or 17.69% of the total quotas.

In 2010, the leaders of countries " G20"in Seoul, they agreed to revise quotas in favor of developing countries. As a result of the 14th revision of quotas, their overall size will be doubled, from 238.4 billion SDR to 476.8 billion SDR, in addition, more than 6% of quotas will be redistributed from developed countries developing. So far, this revision of quotas has not been ratified by the United States.

The highest body of the IMF is the Board of Governors, which consists of two people (the governor and his deputy) from each member country of the organization. Typically these positions are held by finance ministers or central bankers. Traditionally, the Board of Governors meets once a year. Currently, the representative of the Russian Federation on the council is the head of the Russian Ministry of Finance, Anton Siluanov.

Administrative functions and day-to-day management are entrusted to the Managing Director (since 2011, this post has been held by Christine Lagarde) and the Board of Executive Directors, which consists of 24 people (eight directors are appointed from the USA, Germany, Japan, Great Britain, France, China, Saudi Arabia and the Russian Federation, the rest represent groups of states (for example, Northern Europe, north and south South America etc.). Each director has a certain number of votes depending on the size of the country's economy and its quota in the IMF. The Council is re-elected every 2 years. The Russian Federation has 2.39% of total number votes, the USA has the most votes - 16.75%.

As of August 2014, the largest IMF borrowers are Greece (received loans worth about $4.5 billion), Ukraine (about $3 billion) and Portugal (about $2.3 billion). In addition, loans to maintain stability national economy have been approved for Mexico, Poland, Colombia and Morocco. At the same time, Ireland has the largest debt to the IMF, about $30 billion.

Russia in last time received money from the IMF in 1999. In total, from 1992 to 1999, the IMF allocated $26.992 billion to Russia. full repayment Russia's debt to the IMF was announced on February 1, 2005.

The number of IMF employees is about 2.6 thousand in 142 countries.

The organization's headquarters are located in Washington, DC.