Data and Statistics
Last Updated: March 2, 2010
International Financial Statistics:
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Fund Accounts in IFS
Data on members’ Fund accounts are presented in the Fund Position section in the country tables and in four world tables. Terms and concepts of Fund Accounts and the time series in the country and world tables are explained below. More detailed information on member countries’ transactions with and position in the Fund are available on the IMF external website at http://www.imf.org/external/fin.htm.
Terms and Concepts in Fund Accounts
When a country joins the Fund, it is assigned a quota that fits into the structure of existing quotas. Quotas are considered in the light of the member’s economic characteristics relative to those of other members of comparable size. The size of the member’s quota determines, among other things, the member’s voting power, the size of its potential access to Fund resources, and its share in allocations of SDRs.
Quotas are reviewed at intervals of not more than five years. The reviews take account of changes in the relative economic positions of members and the growth of the world economy. Initial subscriptions, and normally subscriptions associated with increases in quotas, are paid mainly in the member’s own currency, and a smaller portion, not exceeding 25 percent, is paid in reserve assets (SDRs or other members’ currencies that are acceptable to the Fund).
The General Resources Account (GRA) resources consist of the currencies of Fund member countries, SDRs, and gold. These resources are received in the form of subscriptions (which are equal to quotas), borrowings, charges on the use of the Fund’s resources, income from investments, and interest on the Fund’s holdings of SDRs. Subscriptions are the main source of funds.
Borrowings are regarded as a temporary source of funds. The Fund has the authority to borrow the currency of any member from any source with the consent of the issuer.
The Fund normally determines the currencies that are used in transactions and operations with members. Each quarter, the Fund prepares a financial transactions plan, in which it indicates the amounts of particular currencies and SDRs to be used during the relevant period. The Fund selects the currencies of members with strong balance of payments and reserve positions. It also seeks to promote, over time, balanced “positions in the Fund.’’
The effects of Fund transactions and operations are summarized in the Fund’s holdings of members’ currencies and in two other measures, namely, reserve position in the Fund and total Fund credit and loans outstanding. (See world table, entitled IMF Accounts and also the Fund Position section in the country tables.)
These measures are defined as follows:
The Fund’s holdings of a member’s currency reflect, among other things, the transactions and operations of the Fund in that currency. This concept is used in calculating the amounts that a member can draw on the Fund under tranche policies and in respect to certain of its obligations to the Fund.
A member’s reserve position in the Fund (time series .1c.s), which has the characteristics of a reserve asset, comprises the reserve tranche position and creditor position under the various borrowing arrangements. A reserve tranche position arises from (1) the payment of part of a member’s subscription in reserve assets and (2) the Fund’s net use of the member’s currency. Normally, a member’s reserve tranche position is equal to its quota less the adjusted Fund holdings of its currency, less subscriptions receivable, less the balances held in the administrative accounts of the Fund to the extent they are not above 0.1 percent of a member’s quota, if positive.
Total Fund credit and loans outstanding (.2tl.) represents the sum of (1) the use of Fund credit within the GRA and (2) outstanding loans under the SAF, PRGF, and the Trust Fund.
SDRs are unconditional reserve assets created by the Fund to supplement existing reserve assets. SDRs have been allocated by the IMF to members that are participants in the SDR Department at the time of the allocation in proportion to their quotas in the IMF. Six allocations totaling SDR 21.4 billion have been made by the Fund in January of 1970, 1971, 1972, 1979, 1980, and 1981. In addition, a general allocation of SDR 161.2 billion was made on August 28, 2009 and a special allocation of SDR 21.5 billion was made on September 9, 2009.
The Fund cannot allocate SDRs to itself but receives them from members through various financial transactions and operations. Entities authorized to conduct transactions in SDRs are the Fund itself, participants in the SDR Department, and other "prescribed holders."
The SDR can be used for a wide range of transactions and operations, including for acquiring other members’ currencies, settling financial obligations, making donations, and extending loans. SDRs may also be used in swap arrangements and as security for the performance of financial obligations. Forward as well as spot transactions may be conducted in SDRs.
Beginning with the March 2010 issue of IFS, four world tables on Fund accounts are presented in IFS, as described below. The rest of the Fund accounts tables which used to be published in IFS will no longer be updated, but historical data are accessible on the CD-ROM or Internet.
The table Fund Accounts: Position to Date reports latest monthly data on members’ Fund positions, including quota, reserve tranche position, lending to the Fund, total Fund credit and loans outstanding, Fund holdings of currencies, and positions in the SDR Department.
The table Total Fund Credit and Loans Outstanding (.2tl.) relates to the outstanding use of Fund resources under the GRA and to outstanding loans under the SAF, PRGF, and Trust Fund.
The table SDR Holdings (.1b.s) shows holdings of SDRs by members and includes a foot table showing SDR holdings by all participants, the IMF, other holders, and the world.
The table Reserve Position in the Fund (.1c.s) relates to members’ claims on the Fund.
A more detailed description of the Fund accounts is contained in the IMF’s Financial Organization and Operations of the IMF, Pamphlet No. 45, sixth edition, 2001.