By Andrea Shalal
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The International Monetary Fund’s governing body has approved a 50% increase in quota resources to be contributed by member countries in proportion to their current IMF shareholding, bringing total quotas to $960 billion, the IMF said on Monday.
It said the governors representing nearly 93% of the total voting power of the fund had cast votes in favor of the 50% increase recommended by the IMF’s executive board, exceeding the 85% required. The voting deadline ended on Friday.
The quota increase will become effective by Nov. 15, 2024 once member countries agree to their respective quota changes, which requires legislative approval in many cases.
The decision largely follows a U.S.-backed plan that would enhance IMF lending resources but delay any IMF shareholding increases for China, India, Brazil and other fast-growing emerging market economies.
But the governors asked the IMF to develop possible approaches for a new quota formula by June 2025, in line with the executive board’s recommendation.
The 50% increase in quota funding — equivalent to about $320 billion at current exchange rates — will not increase the fund’s overall lending firepower of about $1 trillion, but would shift the composition to more permanent resources and reduce reliance on borrowed resources, the IMF said.
IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva called the decision “a strong vote of confidence for the work of the Fund. It will reduce the reliance of the Fund on borrowed resources, restore the primary role of quotas in our lending capacity and reinforce the role of the IMF at the center of the Global Financial Safety Net,” she said.
Georgieva said the move would strengthen the IMF’s capacity to help “safeguard global financial stability and respond to members’ potential needs in an uncertain and shock-prone world.”
(Reporting by Andrea Shalal, Editing by Franklin Paul)
