Review of the Flexible Credit Line, The Short Term Liquidity Line and the Precautionary and Liquidity Line, and Proposals for Reform

Review of the Flexible Credit Line, The Short Term Liquidity Line and the Precautionary and Liquidity Line, and Proposals for Reform
Author: International Monetary
Publisher: International Monetary Fund
Total Pages: 148
Release: 2023-10-06
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN:

The Fund’s precautionary toolkit rests on the simple proposition that facilitating crisis prevention is far less costly than crisis resolution. Its value increases with systemic risk. Serial shocks to the global trading and financial systems pose significant and persistent headwinds for well-integrated emerging markets. An adequately funded global financial safety net (GFSN) with a suite of precautionary tools allows qualifying members to respond to balance of payments (BoP) shocks, reducing the incidence of crises and limiting contagion. The Fund is the only layer of the GFSN available to all members; other layers vary in their availability and externalities. In this context, the overarching objective of this review of the Flexible Credit Line (FCL), Short-term Liquidity Line (SLL), and Precautionary and Liquidity Line (PLL) is to ensure that the precautionary facilities toolkit (henceforth “the toolkit”) is fit for purpose for the challenges ahead.

Adequacy of the Global Financial Safety Net—Review of the Flexible Credit Line and Precautionary and Liquidity Line, and Proposals for Toolkit Reform

Adequacy of the Global Financial Safety Net—Review of the Flexible Credit Line and Precautionary and Liquidity Line, and Proposals for Toolkit Reform
Author: International Monetary Fund. Strategy, Policy, & Review Department
Publisher: International Monetary Fund
Total Pages: 87
Release: 2017-12-19
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN: 1498346138

protracted global uncertainty combined with frequent episodes of capital flow volatility have intensified demand for liquidity support. In response to calls from the IMFC and the G20, the Fund has identified gaps in the global financial safety net (GFSN) and the Fund’s lending toolkit for crisis prevention, including insufficient coverage against liquidity pressures resulting from volatile capital flows. The proposals in this paper draw on the previous Fund work on the adequacy of the GFSN, the review of the Fund’s current toolkit for crisis prevention, and extensive consultations with the membership. The review of the FCL concludes that the FCL has been effective in providing precautionary support against external tail risks. Successor FCL arrangements and associated access levels have been in line with the assessment of external risks and potential balance of payments needs. However, there is scope to strengthen the transparency and predictability of the qualification framework by adding indicator-based thresholds to complement and inform judgment. To enhance crisis resilience while improving the Fund’s toolkit coherence and resource use, the paper proposes three complementary reforms: The establishment of a Short-term Liquidity Swap to provide renewable and reliable liquidity support against potential short-term moderate volatility of capital flows. The proposed instrument is for members with very strong fundamentals and economic policies, and tailored to improve reliability and appeal to users. The use of a core set of indicators with thresholds to guide judgment in FCL qualification. This will improve predictability and transparency while keeping the standards unchanged. The elimination of the PLL to maintain a streamlined and coherent toolkit, given the low use of the PLL, likely reflecting issues of tiering with the FCL. The paper also discusses possible reforms of the current commitment fee policy to promote a more balanced use of Fund resources. Possible options include increasing the commitment fee at high access levels or introducing a new time-based commitment fee.

Adequacy of the Global Financial Safety Net—Review of the Flexible Credit Line and Precautionary and Liquidity Line, and Proposals for Toolkit Reform—Revised Proposals

Adequacy of the Global Financial Safety Net—Review of the Flexible Credit Line and Precautionary and Liquidity Line, and Proposals for Toolkit Reform—Revised Proposals
Author: International Monetary Fund. Strategy, Policy, & Review Department
Publisher: International Monetary Fund
Total Pages: 29
Release: 2017-12-19
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN: 1498346154

in the Fund’s work stream on the Adequacy of the Global Financial Safety Net (GFSN). The paper follows the Executive Board’s discussion of the Adequacy of the Global Financial Safety Net—Review of the Flexible Credit Line and Precautionary and Liquidity Line, and Proposals for Toolkit Reform on June 30, 2017 (the "June paper"),1 and presents revised reform proposals in light of Directors’ views. In the absence of sufficient Executive Board support for a new liquidity facility, the paper proposes to retain the Precautionary and Liquidity Line (PLL). It also proposes to introduce a Time-Based Commitment Fee (TBCF) in light of many Directors’ support for this feature. 2. This work is part of the Fund’s broader work stream to strengthen the GFSN . As such, it complements the new non-financing Policy Coordination Instrument and operational principles and framework for future Fund engagement with Regional Financing Arrangements.2 3. The paper is organized as follows. Section II lays out the revised set of reform proposals. Section III sets forth issues for discussion, and proposes decisions to (i) complete the review of the Flexible Credit Line (FCL) and the PLL; and (ii) introduce a TBCF. The paper also includes an Annex that describes a planned revision to the presentation of the Fund’s Forward Commitment Capacity (FCC) to provide a breakdown between precautionary and other Fund commitments.

IMF COVID-19 Response—A New Short-Term Liquidity Line to Enhance The Adequacy Of The Global Financial Safety Net

IMF COVID-19 Response—A New Short-Term Liquidity Line to Enhance The Adequacy Of The Global Financial Safety Net
Author: International Monetary Fund
Publisher: International Monetary Fund
Total Pages: 64
Release: 2020-04-22
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN: 1513541706

The COVID-19 pandemic has created severe disruption in the global financial system, with many emerging market and developing countries (EMDCs) facing liquidity shortages. In the context of intensified demand for liquidity and heightened global uncertainty, staff has revisited the 2017 proposal for a new facility to provide liquidity support to the Fund’s membership. This paper proposes the establishment of a new Short-term Liquidity Line (SLL) as a special facility in the General Resources Account (GRA), based on the key features of the 2017 blueprint.

Chile

Chile
Author: International Monetary Fund. Western Hemisphere Dept.
Publisher: International Monetary Fund
Total Pages: 75
Release: 2024-08-28
Genre:
ISBN:

The imbalances built during the pandemic have been largely resolved shifting priorities to supporting stronger, more inclusive and greener medium-term growth. The near-term outlook has improved, primarily due to higher copper prices and prospects for increased lithium production. In this context, policies are focused on creating conditions to add dynamism to the economy such as expediting investment permits while continuing with reforms to increase tax revenue and reduce inequality. The authorities remain fully committed to maintaining very strong policies and policy frameworks.

Mexico

Mexico
Author: International Monetary Fund. Western Hemisphere Dept.
Publisher: International Monetary Fund
Total Pages: 52
Release: 2023-11-16
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN:

Economic growth has been robust, supported by strong domestic investment and consumption. Monetary policy is focused on containing inflationary pressures, while fiscal policy has kept public debt in check. The authorities remain committed to maintaining their very strong policies and policy frameworks, to ensure economic, fiscal, and financial stability.

Review of the Adequacy of the Fund’s Precautionary Balances

Review of the Adequacy of the Fund’s Precautionary Balances
Author: International Monetary Fund. Finance Dept.
Publisher: International Monetary Fund
Total Pages: 68
Release: 2024-04-04
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN:

On March 20, 2024, the IMF’s Executive Board reviewed the adequacy of the Fund’s precautionary balances. The review took place somewhat ahead of the standard two-year cycle, in view of the imminent attainment of the current indicative medium-term indicative target of SDR 25 billion for the first time. Precautionary balances comprise the Fund’s general and special reserves. They are a key element of the IMF’s multi-layered framework for managing financial risks. Precautionary balances provide a buffer to protect the Fund against potential losses, resulting from credit, income, and other financial risks. The review was based on the assessment framework established in 2010, which uses an indicative range for precautionary balances, linked to a forward-looking measure of total IMF non-concessional credit, to guide decisions on adjusting the medium-term target over time. While financial risks remain high, they are broadly unchanged from the last review, taking into account the further accumulation of reserves and strengthening of some risk mitigants. Against this background, Executive Directors broadly supported staff’s proposal to retain the current medium-term target of SDR 25 billion and increase the minimum floor from SDR 15 billion to SDR 20 billion. The Board also supported maintaining the biennial review cycle, with earlier reviews if warranted by developments that could materially affect the adequacy of precautionary balances.

Review of the Flexible Credit Line, the Precautionary and Liquidity Line, and the Rapid Financing Instrument

Review of the Flexible Credit Line, the Precautionary and Liquidity Line, and the Rapid Financing Instrument
Author: International Monetary Fund
Publisher: International Monetary Fund
Total Pages: 50
Release: 2014-01-28
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN: 1498343805

This review of the Flexible Credit Line (FCL), the Precautionary and Liquidity Line (PLL), and the Rapid Financing Instrument (RFI) focuses on four key issues: (i) the demand for the FCL and PLL in the context of the broader role of the Fund’s lending (including precautionary) instruments in the global financial safety net (GFSN); (ii) the qualification/conditionality framework for the FCL and the PLL; (iii) concerns about repeated usage of FCL arrangements by the same members and consideration of ways to further improve the transparency in the discussion of access/exit in the underlying staff documents; and (iv) the lack of demand for the RFI.

FY2025–FY2027 Medium-Term Budget

FY2025–FY2027 Medium-Term Budget
Author: International Monetary Fund. Office of Budget and Planning
Publisher: International Monetary Fund
Total Pages: 63
Release: 2024-05-10
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN:

The Executive Board of the International Monetary Fund approved the 2025-27 financial years (FY25-27) medium-term budget. While the global economy has shown resilience to successive adverse shocks, the overall global economic context remains complex with slow and uneven growth, increased fragmentation, deepening divergence, and still high interest rates despite easing inflationary pressures. Against this backdrop, the FY25-27 budget continues to be guided by principles of agility and budget discipline, reinforced by ongoing reprioritization and savings capture. It also builds on strong cooperation with other institutions, ensuring the Fund continues to focus on areas within its mandate, even as it addresses new demands. Work to strengthen internal operations also continue, focusing on both efficiency and effectiveness in meeting changing needs in the post-pandemic workplace, where rapid technological changes are underway. With significant demands within a constrained budget environment, the budget reflects difficult tradeoffs.