[ 1983 ] Part 2 Chapter 9 the International Monetary Fund
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
International Monetary Fund 1277 Chapter IX International Monetary Fund (IMF) Financial assistance by the International Monetary Drawings under the compensatory financing fa- Fund (IMF) to its member countries rose sharply cility, designed to compensate for temporary short- in 1983 in response to the continuing deterioration falls in export earnings of member countries or for in world trade and payments positions and to the excessive increases in cereal import costs and en- increasing difficulties experienced by developing tailing less restrictive conditionality, rose by 8 per countries in servicing their external debt. Total cent in 1983 to SDR 2.8 billion. Purchases under purchases-measured in special drawing rights the buffer stock financing facility, which assists (SDRS), the unit of account of IMF—amounted to members in making contributions to Fund- a record SDR 12.6 billion in 1983, or 69.4 per cent approved international buffer stocks, rose to above the 1982 peak of SDR 7.4 billion, with all around SDR 352 million in 1983. drawings representing financial assistance by IMF In contrast to the rise in total drawings, repur- to its developing member countries. The total did chases (repayments by IMF members) grew only not include reserve tranche drawings, which were slightly in 1983 to SDR 2 billion, from SDR 1.8 bil- not regarded as uses of IMF credit but rather as lion in 1982. This small increase resulted in an in- drawings by members on reserve assets deposited crease in net purchases of more than 82 per cent by them with IMF. Reserve tranche drawings, which to a record SDR 10.6 billion, compared with the are subject neither to conditionality nor to repur- previous record of SDR 5.9 billion in 1982. chase requirements, rose moderately in 1983 and Use of SDRs also increased substantially in amounted to SDR 1.5 billion, compared with SDR 1983, largely because of payments in SDRs by par- 1.3 billion in 1982. ticipants of all or part of the reserve asset portion New loan commitments under stand-by and ex- of their quota increases under the Eighth General tended arrangements, which had amounted to Review of Quotas (see below). These payments, only SDR 2.4 billion in 1982, rose fourfold in 1983 made in December 1983 by 120 member countries to SDR 10.5 billion. At the end of 1983, there were and amounting to SDR 6 billion, helped to in- 33 stand-by arrangements and 10 extended ar- crease total SDR transfers to SDR 20.7 billion, from rangements in effect with an approved value of SDR 12.2 billion in 1982. Transactions “by agree- SDR 22.9 billion and an undrawn balance of SDR ment”, voluntary transfers in exchange for curren- 12.4 billion. cies, grew to a record SDR 2.7 billion in 1983, Purchases made available in support of eco- compared with the previous record of SDR 1.8 bil- nomic adjustment programmes and subject to lion in 1978. This was the first time since 1978 that relatively strong conditionality requirements ac- the level of transactions “by agreement” exceeded counted for about 75 per cent of the drawings of that of transactions “with designation”, which SDR 12.6 billion in 1983, up about 13 per cent on totalled SDR 2.1 billion. Under transactions “with 1982. This reflected almost a doubling of draw- designation”, participants whose international ings under stand-by arrangements (typically made financial position was sufficiently strong were over a one-year period) to SDR 4.6 billion and designated by IMF to exchange their usable cur- more than a doubling of drawings under extended rencies for the SDRS of participants requiring arrangements (usually made over three years) also balance-of-payments assistance. to SDR 4.6 billion; first credit tranche purchases that were made under stand-by arrangements amounted to SDR 259.1 million. IMF liquidity Conditionality requirements, linking financial Several important decisions were reached in assistance by IMF to the adoption of economic ad- 1983 with the purpose of effectively doubling the justment policies by members, were less rigorous usable resources of IMF so that it could continue for drawings under the first credit tranche, which to provide adequate financial assistance to its may be made outright or through a stand-by ar- members. These decisions included an increase of rangement. Purchases in the upper credit tranches, about 50 per cent in the level of IMF quotas, an almost always made under a stand-by or extended almost threefold enlargement in the total amount arrangement, required substantial justification and of commitments under the General Arrangements were subject to phased disbursements and to ful- to Borrow (GAB) and the extension of this facility filment of specific performance criteria. to finance purchases by any member, as well as 1278 Intergovernmental organizations the establishment of a separate credit facility by Saudi under taken in 1983. At a meeting in Washington, Arabia to provide financial assistance to IMF under ID. C., on 25 September, the Interim Committee the same conditions as GAB. recommended that the enlarged access policy The increase in Fund quotas from the current should continue for 1984. level of about SDR 61 billion to SDR 90 billion under Access to the Fund’s resources under the policy the Eighth General Review of Quotas was agreed during the extension was to be subject to annual by the Interim Committee of the IMF Board of limits of 102 or 125 per cent of quota, three-year Governors, meeting at Washington, D. C., in Febru- limits of 306 or 375 per cent of quota, and cumula- ary. The Committee agreed that 40 per cent of the tive limits of 408 or 500 per cent of quota, depend- overall increase was to be distributed to all mem- ing on the seriousness of the balance,-of-payments bers in proportion to their existing individual quotas needs and the strength of the adjustment effort. and that the balance should be distributed in the These limits were to be examined periodically in form of selective adjustments reflecting members’ conjunction with reviews of the enlarged access relative positions in the world economy. policy itself. A resolution authorizing the increase in quotas was adopted by the Board of Governors on 31 Debt renegotiation March. The new quotas were to become effective In 1983, a number of developing countries con- when members having at least 70 per cent of total tinued to face major debt-servicing difficulties quotas had consented to their individual increases owing to high interest payments and to a further and paid them in full. IMF said that this provision contraction of their export markets that reflected had been met on 30 November. As at 2 Decem- the recession in the industrial countries and their ber, 132 member countries (of a total membership recourse to protectionist measures. With Govern- of 146, unchanged in 1983), representing 96.55 per ments, central and commercial banks, and the cent of total Fund quotas, had notified IMF of their Bank for International Settlements, IMF helped to consent to the increases. put together financing arrangements for the major Another measure to improve the liquidity of debtor countries. An important aspect of the IMF was adopted on 18 January by the Group of Fund’s role was to explain the thrust of Fund- 10—the original industrial member countries par- supported adjustment policies, to identify the im- ticipating in GAB-when it agreed to increase the mediate financing requirements of the debtor aggregate commitments available under GAB from countries, and to encourage commercial banks to SDR 6.4 billion to SDR 17 billion and to make the reschedule payments due on their loans to these resources available for drawings by any member countries and to make new loans. of IMF if needed to forestall or cope with an im- pairment of the international monetary system. Exchange rate policies Previously, use of GAB had been limited to financ- Under its Articles of Agreement, the Fund was ing drawings by participants in GAB. The revision, charged with overseeing the international mone- which was approved by the Fund’s Executive tary system. Article IV, Section 3 (b), provided that Board on 24 February and entered into force on “the Fund shall exercise firm surveillance over the 26 December, also authorized the participation of exchange rate policies of members, and shall adopt Switzerland in GAB and permitted IMF to enter specific principles for the guidance of all members into GAB-associated borrowing arrangements with with respect to those policies”. The timing and lenders other than GAB participants. One such timeliness of Article IV consultations were of con- borrowing arrangement with Saudi Arabia for up siderable importance. In principle, consultations to SDR 1.5 billion was approved by the Executive were to take place annually, but in practice even Board on 20 May. the operational guideline that had been adopted-covering three fourths of the member- Access to IMF resources ship annually-had not been met in the early In addition to augmenting the resources of IMF, 1980s. This slippage led the Executive Board in the increase in quotas was to raise the levels of 1983 to implement a stricter adherence to an an- members’ access to these resources. The enlarged nual consultation cycle for most members, partic- access policy, which was to replace the supplemen- ularly those whose policies had a significant im- tary financing facility, would enable IMF to pro- pact on other economies, those that had vide supplementary financing to all members fac- Fund-supported programmes, and those for which ing payments imbalances that were large in there were substantial doubts about the medium- relation to their quotas.