Organization attributes
Other attributes
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) is an organization of 190 countries, working to foster global monetary cooperation, secure financial stability, facilitate international trade, promote high employment and sustainable economic growth, and reduce poverty around the world.
The IMF was formed in 1944 at the Bretton Woods conference in the United States as a response to the economic crisis of the Great Depression of the 1930s. The main task is to provide short-term and medium-term loans to countries that are experiencing an economic crisis.
Today, 190 countries are members of the IMF. The organization employs more than 2,700 people from 150 countries. Unlike the World Bank, which focuses on developing only the fear of the poor, the IMF can lend to any country. Typically, the issuance of loans is accompanied by a set of certain conditions and recommendations. The loan itself is provided in the form of tranches - parts. If the state, having accepted the first tranche of the loan, does not comply with the conditions and recommendations of the IMF, then the organization has the right to refuse to provide the second tranche to the country.
- Promote international monetary cooperation;
- Facilitate the expansion and balanced growth of international trade;
- Promote exchange stability;
- Assist in the establishment of a multilateral system of payments; and
- Make resources available (with adequate safeguards) to members experiencing balance-of-payments difficulties.
- Amount available for lending: 1 trillion US dollars
- Current lending arrangements: 34
- Recipients countries of emergency pandemic financing: 76
- The largest borrowers: Argentina, Egypt, Ukraine, Pakistan
- The largest precautionary loans: Mexico, Chile, Colombia
The IMF is often criticized for its pro-American nature of the actions and the ineffectiveness of its recommendations for overcoming economic crises. Most often, the recommendations of the IMF when issuing loans provide for the freedom of movement of capital, privatization (including transport infrastructure and utilities), and the elimination of social programs. All this creates ideal conditions for economic annexation by big corporations and other governments. The state economy, weakened by the crisis, in most cases cannot withstand such pressure and becomes dependent on outside influence.
