The IMF, also known as the “Fund,” was conceived at a United Nations conference convened in Bretton Woods, New Hampshire, United States, in July 1944. The 44 governments represented at that conference sought to build a framework for economic cooperation that would avoid a repetition of the vicious circle of competitive devaluations that had contributed to the Great Depression of the 1930s.

The IMF’s responsibilities: The IMF's primary purpose is to ensure the stability of the international monetary system—the system of exchange rates and international payments that enables countries (and their citizens) to transact with each other. The Fund’s mandate was updated in 2012 to include all macroeconomic and financial sector issues that bear on global stability.

Surveillance: To maintain stability and prevent crises in the international monetary system, the IMF reviews country policies and national, regional, and global economic and financial developments through a formal system known as surveillance. The IMF advises its 188 member countries, encouraging policies that foster economic stability, reduce vulnerability to economic and financial crises, and raise living standards. It provides regular assessment of global prospects in its World Economic Outlook, of financial markets in its Global Financial Stability Report, and of public finance developments in its Fiscal Monitor, and publishes a series of regional economic outlooks.

Financial assistance: IMF financing provides member countries the breathing room they need to correct balance of payments problems. A policy program supported by IMF financing is designed by the national authorities in close cooperation with the IMF, and continued financial support is conditioned on effective implementation of this program. In an early response to the recent global economic crisis, the IMF strengthened its lending capacity and approved a major overhaul of the mechanisms for providing financial support in April 2009, with further reforms adopted in August 2010 and December 2011. IMF lending instruments were improved to provide flexible crisis prevention tools to members with sound economic fundamentals, policies, and institutional policy frameworks. The IMF doubled loan access limits and boosted its lending to the world’s poorer countries, supported by the windfall profits from gold sales; these loans are interest-free through end-2014.

Technical assistance: The IMF provides technical assistance and training to help member countries strengthen their capacity to design and implement effective policies. Technical assistance is offered in several areas, including tax policy and administration, expenditure management, monetary and exchange rate policies, banking and financial system supervision and regulation, legislative frameworks, and statistics.

Resources: The primary source of the IMF's financial resources is its members’ quotas, which broadly reflect members’ relative position in the world economy. Currently, total quota resources amount to about SDR 238 billion (about $368 billion). In addition, the IMF can borrow temporarily to supplement its quota resources. The expanded New Arrangements to Borrow (NAB), which can provide supplementary resources of up to SDR 370 billion (about $572 billion), is the main backstop to quotas. In mid-2012, member countries also pledged to increase the IMF’s resources by $461 billion through bilateral borrowing agreements. When the 14th review of quotas becomes effective and all members pay for their quota increases, the IMF’s quota resources will double. At that time, there will also be a corresponding rollback of NAB resources for the NAB participants.

SDRs:The IMF issues an international reserve asset known as Special Drawing Rights (SDRs) that can supplement the official reserves of member countries. They amount to about SDR 204 billion (some $316 billion). IMF members can voluntarily exchange SDRs for currencies among themselves.

Governance and organization: The IMF is accountable to the governments of its member countries. At the top of its organizational structure is the Board of Governors, which consists of one Governor and one Alternate Governor from each member country. The Board of Governors meets once each year at the IMF-World Bank Annual Meetings. Twenty-four of the Governors sit on the International Monetary and Financial Committee (IMFC) and normally meet twice each year.

The day-to-day work of the IMF is overseen by its 24-member Executive Board, which represents the entire membership; this work is guided by the IMFC and supported by the IMF staff. A proposed Amendment of the IMF’s Articles of Agreement will introduce for the first time an Executive Board whose members are all elected. The Managing Director is the head of the IMF staff and Chairman of the Executive Board and is assisted by four Deputy Managing Directors.

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