Back Matter
Author: International Monetary Fund
Language:
English
Keywords:
AR; AREA; wolf-dieter Donecker; votes of the Islamic State; votes of the Democratic Republic of the Congo; IMF surveillance; total vote; Currencies; Personal income; Emerging and frontier financial markets; Global; Asia and Pacific; Africa; East Asia; Europe
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Abstract

Contents

Appendices

Contents

  • Appendix I. International Reserves

    • Foreign Exchange Reserves

    • Holdings of IMF-Related Assets

    • Gold Reserves

      • Developments in the First Quarter of 199

    • Currency Composition of Foreign Exchange Reserves

    • Refinements of Reserves Data

    • Tables in Appendix I

      • I.1. Official Holdings of Reserve Assets, 1993–March 1999

      • I.2. Share of National Currencies in Total Identified Official Holdings of Foreign Exchange, End of Year 1989–98

      • I.3. Currency Composition of Official Holdings of Foreign Exchange, End of Year 1990–98

  • Appendix II. Financial Operations and Transactions of the Fund

    • Tables in Appendix II

      • II.1. Arrangements Approved During Financial Years Ended April 30, 1953–99

      • II.2. Arrangements in Effect at End of Financial Years Ended April 30, 1953–99

      • II.3. Stand-By Arrangements in Effect During Financial Year Ended April 30, 1999

      • II.4. Extended Arrangements in Effect During Financial Year Ended April 30, 1999

      • II.5. Arrangements Under the Enhanced Structural Adjustment Facility in Effect During Financial Year Ended April 30, 1999

      • II.6. Summary of Disbursements, Repurchases, and Repayments, Financial Years Ended April 30, 1948–99

      • II.7. Purchases and Loans from the IMF, Financial Year Ended April 30, 1999

      • II.8. Repurchases and Repayments to the IMF, Financial Year Ended April 30, 1999

      • II.9. Outstanding IMF Credit by Facility and Policy, Financial Years Ended April 30, 1992–99

      • II.10. Enhanced Structural Adjustment Facility, Estimated Value of Contributions (Commitments as of April 30,1999)

      • II.11. Special One-Time Allocation of SDRs Pursuant to Schedule M of the Proposed Fourth Amendment of the Articles of Agreement

      • II.12. Summary of Transactions and Operations in SDRs, Financial Year Ended April 30, 1999

      • II.13. Holdings of SDRs by All Participants and by Groups of Countries as Percent of Their Cumulative Allocations of SDRs and of Their Nongold Reserves, Financial Years Ended April 30, 1975–99

      • II.14. Key IMF Rates, Financial Year Ended April 30, 1999

      • II.15. Members’ Quotas, April 30, 1998 and April 30, 1999

      • II.16. Members That Have Accepted the Obligations of Article VIII, Sections 2, 3, and 4 of the Articles of Agreement

      • II.17. Exchange Rate Arrangements and Anchors of Monetary Policy as of April 30, 1999

  • Appendix III. Principal Policy Decisions of the Executive Board

    • A. Access Policy—Guidelines on Access Limits

    • B. IMF’s Income Position

    • C. Enhanced Structural Adjustment Facility (ESAF)

    • D. Supplemental Reserve Facility (SRF)

    • E. Multiple Currency Practices—Approval Period

    • F. Operational Budget

    • G. European Economic and Monetary Union and the IMF

    • H. Resources in Connection with Debt- and Debt-Service-Reduction Operations

    • I. Eleventh General Review of Quotas Attachment: Communications to All Members

    • J. European Central Bank—Observer Status

    • K. Access to the IMF’s Archives—Review and Amendment of Policy

  • Appendix IV. IMF Relations with Other International Organizations

    • Liaison with Other Organizations

    • Relations with the United Nations

    • Relations with the World Trade Organization

    • Collaboration with the World Bank

    • Cooperation with Regional Development Banks

    • Role of IMF Management

  • Appendix V. External Relations

    • Purposes, Audiences, and Instruments of External Communications

    • Board Review of External Communications

    • External Consultants Assess IMF’s External Communications

    • Table in Appendix V

      • V.I Publications Issued, Financial Year Ended April 30, 1999

    • Boxes in Appendix V

      • V.I New Features on the IMF’s Website

      • V.2 IMF to Open New Public Outreach Center at IMF Headquarters

  • Appendix VI. Press Communiqués of the Interim Committee and the Development Committee

    • Interim Committee of the Board of Governors of the International Monetary System

      • Fifty-First Meeting, Washington, D.C., October 4, 199

      • Fifty-Second Meeting, Washington, D.C., April 27, 1999

    • Joint Ministerial Committee of the Boards of Governors of the Bank and the Fund on the Transfer of Real Resources to Developing Countries (Development Committee)

      • Fifty-Eighth Meeting, Washington, B.C., October 5, 1998

      • Fifty-Ninth Meeting, Washington, D.C., April 28, 1999

  • Appendix VII. Executive Directors and Voting Power on April 30, 1999

  • Appendix VIII. Changes in Membership of the Executive Board

  • Appendix IX. Financial Statements

    • Report of the of the External Audit Committee

    • Financial Statements of the International Monetary Fund

      • General Department

        • Balance Sheet

        • Income Statement

        • Statement of Changes in Reserves and Resources

        • Notes to the Financial Statements

          • schedule 1—Quotas, IMF’s Holdings of Currencies, Reserve Tranche Positions, and Members’ Use of Resources

          • Schedule 2—Financial Resources and Liquidity Position

          • Schedule 3—Schedule of Repurchases and Repayments of Loans

          • Schedule 4—Status of Arrangements

      • SDR Department

        • Statement of Allocations and Holdings

        • Statement of Receipts and Uses of SDRs

        • Notes to the Financial Statements

    • Financial Statements of Accounts Adminstered by the IMF

      • Enhanced Structural Adjustment Facility Trust

        • Balance Sheet

        • Income Statement

        • Statement of Changes in Resources

        • Notes to the Financial Statements

          • Schedule 1—Schedule of Outstanding Loans

          • Schedule 2—Contributions to and Resources of the Subsidy Account

          • Schedule 3—Schedule of Borrowing Agreements

          • Schedule 4—Schedule of Repayments of Borrowing

          • Schedule 5—Status of Loan Arrangements

          • Schedule 6—Schedule of Repayments of Loans Receivable

      • Enhanced Structural Adjustment Facility Administered Accounts

        • Balance Sheets

        • Income Statements

        • Statements of Changes in Resources

        • Saudi Fund for Development Special Account

        • Notes to the Financial Statements

      • ESAF-HIPC Trust

        • Balance Sheet

        • Income Statement and Changes in Resources

        • Notes to the Financial Statements

      • Administered Accounts

        • Balance Sheets

        • Income Statements and Changes in Resource

        • Notes to the Financial Statements

      • Trust Fund

        • Balance Sheet

        • Income Statement

        • Statement of Changes in Resources

        • Notes to the Financial Statements

      • Supplementary Financial Facility Subsidy Account

        • Balance Sheet

        • Income Statement and Changes in Resources

        • Notes to the Financial Statements

      • Retired Staff Benefits Investment Account

        • Balance Sheet

        • Income Statement and Changes in Resources

        • Notes to the Financial Statements

    • Financial Statements of the Staff Retirement Plan

      • Staff Retirement Plan

      • Report of the External Audit Committee

        • Statement of Accumulated Plan Benefits and Net Assets Available for Benefits

        • Statement of Changes in Accumulated Plan Benefits

        • Statement of Changes in Net Assets Available for Benefits

        • Notes to the Financial Statements

      • Supplemental Retirement Benefit Plan

      • Report of the External Audit Committee

        • Statement of Accumulated Plan Benefits and Net Assets Available for Benefits

        • Statement of Changes in Accumulated Plan Benefits

        • Statement of Changes in Net Assets Available for Benefits

        • Notes to the Financial Statements

Appendix I. International Reserves

Total international reserves remained essentially unchanged in 1998 relative to the previous year—at SDR 1.4 trillion (Table I.I). Nongold reserves, which consist of foreign exchange reserves and IMF-related assets, fell by SDR 10 billion (1 percent) and stood at SDR 1.24 trillion at the end of the year. Foreign exchange reserves declined by 2 percent to SDR 1.16 trillion, while IMF-related assets increased by 20 percent to SDR 81 billion. The market value of gold reserves held by monetary authorities increased by 3 percent to SDR 197 billion at the end of 1998.1

Table I.1

Official Holdings of Reserve Assets, 1993–March 19991

(In billions of SDRs)

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Note: Components may not sum to totals because of rounding.Source: International Monetary Fund, International Financial Statistics.

End-of-year figures for all years except 1999. “IMF-related assets” comprise reserve positions in the IMF and SDR holdings of all IMF members. The entries under “Foreign exchange” and “Gold” comprise official holdings of those IMF members for which data are available and certain other countries or areas.

One troy ounce equals 31.103 grams. The market price is the afternoon price fixed in London on the last business day of each period.

Foreign Exchange Reserves

Foreign exchange reserves constitute the main component of reserve assets, accounting for 94 percent of nongold assets. Total foreign exchange reserves declined by 2 percent during 1998, following annual increases of about 10 to 15 percent over the previous five years. Foreign exchange reserves of industrial countries declined by 7 percent in 1998, while those of developing countries increased by 2 percent. Developing countries have steadily increased their share of foreign exchange holdings, and at the end of 1998, they held 58 percent of total foreign exchange reserves. Developing countries without debt-servicing problems increased their foreign exchange reserves by 6 percent to SDR 425 billion. In contrast, foreign exchange reserves of countries with debt-servicing problems declined by 9 percent, following annual increases of 10 to 25 percent during the 1990s.

Holdings of IMF-Related Assets

IMF-related assets represent 7 percent of total reserve assets. During 1998, IMF-related assets increased by 20 percent to SDR 81 billion. Members’ reserve positions in the IMF, which comprise their reserve tranche and creditor positions, increased in 1998 by 29 percent (SDR 14 billion), following a 24 percent increase in 1997. The high rates of increase of these reserve assets during these two years reflect increases in industrial countries’ reserve positions in the IMF associated with purchases of their currencies by certain member countries experiencing balance of payments difficulties.

Holdings of SDRs by IMF member countries during 1998 remained essentially unchanged from the previous year at SDR 20.4 billion. Of the total allocation of 21.4 billion SDRs, the IMF holds SDR 687 million and other prescribed institutions hold the remaining SDR 455 million.

Gold Reserves

The market value of gold reserves held by monetary authorities increased by 3 percent to SDR 197 billion at the end of 1998. During 1998, the SDR market price of gold fell by 5 percent, while the physical stock of gold reserves increased by 8 percent. This increase in the stock of gold mainly reflects the return of the gold portion of the European currency unit (ecu) reserves by the new European Central Bank to the central banks of the 11 countries participating in the first round of European Economic and Monetary Union (EMU). The share of gold reserves in total reserves has declined gradually to 14 percent at the end of 1998 from about 50 percent in the early 1980s. Gold reserves represent 23 percent of total reserves for industrial countries and less than 5 percent of total reserves for developing countries. Industrial countries hold 84 percent of all gold reserves.

Developments in the First Quarter of 1999

Holdings of reserve assets declined by SDR 52 billion (4 percent) during the first quarter of 1999. Total reserves of industrial countries declined by 8 percent (SDR 56 billion), while those of developing countries increased by 1 percent. These changes are attributable mainly to changes in foreign exchange reserves. IMF-related assets fell by 3 percent. The sharp decline of SDR 5 billion (25 percent) in the SDR component of IMF-related assets in the first quarter of 1999 reflects quota payments made by member countries, following the quota increase that was approved in early 1999. The market value of gold reserves declined by 2 percent.

Currency Composition of Foreign Exchange Reserves

The degree of diversification in the currency composition of foreign exchange reserves has not changed significantly over the past decade (Table I.2). The U.S. dollar remains the dominant international reserve currency. The share of the U.S. dollar in total foreign exchange reserves declined during the 1980s, but, after reaching a low of 48 percent in 1990, gradually rebounded to 60 percent by 1998. The shares of the deutsche mark and the Japanese yen peaked around 1990 and declined to 12 percent and 5 percent, respectively, by the end of 1998. Following a similar pattern, the shares of the French franc, the Swiss franc, and the Dutch guilder peaked around 1990 and have declined gradually since then. By contrast, the share of the pound sterling increased by about 1 percentage point during the 1990s.

Table I.2

Share of National Currencies in Total Identified Official Holdings of Foreign Exchange, End of Year 1989–981

(In percent)

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Note: Components may not sum to total because of rounding.

Note that ecus are treated as a separate currency. Only IMF member countries that report their official holdings of foreign exchange are included in this table.

The residual is equal to the difference between total foreign exchange reserves of IMF member countries and the sum of the reserves held in the currencies listed in the table.

The calculations here rely to a greater extent on IMF staff estimates than do those provided for the group of industrial countries.

In the calculation of currency shares in Table I.2, the ecu is treated as a separate currency. Official ecu reserves existed in the form of claims on both the private sector and on the European Monetary Institute (EMI). The ecu reserves that represented claims on the EMI had been issued in exchange for deposits equal to 20 percent of both dollar and gold reserves. In December 1998, prior to the start of Stage Three of EMU and the creation of the euro, the gold and dollar reserves swapped for ecus were returned to the central banks of EMU countries by the European Central Bank, the successor to the EMI. Hence, the share of ecus in total official foreign exchange reserves fell sharply at the end of 1998. The remaining component of ecu foreign exchange reserves consists of official claims on the private sector, usually in the form of ecu deposits and bonds.2

The share of unspecified currencies, which includes currencies other than those discussed above as well as foreign exchange reserves for which no information on the currency composition is available, increased significantly through the 1990s. This mainly reflects data problems since many transition economies that have become IMF members in recent years report only their total holdings of foreign exchange reserves but do not provide information on the currency composition of their reserves. The share of unspecified currencies stood at 16 percent in 1998 (indicating that the evolution of currency shares discussed here should be interpreted with considerable caution, especially for developing countries).

For industrial countries, the share of the U.S. dollar in foreign exchange reserves increased by 6 percentage points at the end of 1998, with a concomitant decline in the share of ecu holdings. For developing countries, the U.S. dollar portion of foreign exchange has remained around 57 percent since 1991. Unspecified currencies accounted for 22 percent of developing countries’ foreign exchange reserves in 1998.

Changes in the SDR value of foreign exchange reserves can be decomposed into quantity and valuation (price) changes for each of the major currencies as well as the ecu (Table I.3). In 1998, total official foreign exchange reserves in major identifiable currencies decreased by SDR 26 billion, reflecting a quantity decrease of SDR 6 billion and a decrease of SDR 19 billion in the valuation of these reserves in SDR terms.

Table I.3

Currency Composition of Official Holdings of Foreign Exchange, End of Year 1990–981

(In millions of SDRs)

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Note: Components may not sum to totals because of rounding.

The currency composition of foreign exchange is based on the IMF’s currency survey and on estimates derived mainly, but not solely, from official national reports. The numbers in this table should be regarded as estimates that are subject to adjustment as more information is received. Quantity changes are derived by multiplying the changes in official holdings of each currency from the end of one quarter to the next by the average of the two SDR prices of that currency prevailing at the corresponding dates. This procedure converts the change in the quantity of national currency from own units to SDR units of account. Subtracting the SDR value of the quantity change so derived from the quarterly change in the SDR value of foreign exchange held at the end of two successive quarters and cumulating these differences yields the effect of price changes over the years shown.

Each item represents the sum of the eight currencies above.

Includes a residual whose currency composition could not be ascertained, as well as holdings of currencies other than those shown.

Official reserves held in U.S. dollars increased by SDR 19 billion in 1998; this reflected an increase of SDR 47 billion in the quantity of dollars held as reserves that more than offset a decrease of SDR 28 billion in the SDR value of these holdings. A similar pattern of an increase in the quantity of holdings, offset by a smaller negative valuation effect, resulted in an increase in the net value of pound sterling reserves. Despite valuation increases, the SDR value of deutsche mark holdings fell because of a substantial decline in the quantity of reserve holdings of this currency. By contrast, the increase in the SDR value of the Japanese yen more than offset the quantity decline for this currency, resulting in an increase of SDR 2 billion in the holdings of Japanese yen. There were no significant changes in the values of French franc, Swiss franc, and Dutch guilder holdings in 1998. Official holdings of ecu reserves declined by SDR 48 billion, reflecting the reconstitution of the dollar- and gold-backed ecus originally issued by the EMI.

Refinements of Reserves Data

In collaboration with other international organizations—including the World Bank, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), and the Bank for International Settlements (BIS)—the IMF has initiated a project to improve the coverage, quality, and timeliness of data provided by national authorities on official reserves and related items. In particular, under the aegis of the IMF’s Special Data Dissemination Standard (see Chapter 5), guidelines are being developed for national authorities to provide comprehensive data on reserves in a consistent format that will enable timely and efficient dissemination of these data. Furthermore, efforts are under way to improve the quality of reserves data obtained from countries that have recently become IMF members. These initiatives should result in superior and more timely data on reserves and related items becoming available in the near future.

Appendix II. Financial Operations and Transactions

The tables in this appendix supplement the information given in Chapter 10 on the IMF’s financial operations and policies.

Table II.1

Arrangements Approved During Financial Years Ended April 30, 1953–99

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Table II.2

Arrangements in Effect at End of Financial Years Ended April 30, 1953–99

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Table II.3

Stand-By Arrangements in Effect During Financial Year Ended April 30, 1999

(In millions of SDRs)

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Includes SDR 9 billion available until December 1, 1999 under the Supplemental Reserve Facility (SRF).

The authorities have indicated their intention not to draw under the arrangement.

Extended from April 19, 1999.

Extended from June 30, 1998. Increased by SDR 2 million.

Canceled prior to expiration date of November 4, 2000 and replaced by an Extended Arrangement.

Includes SDR 10 million available until December 17, 1998 under the SRF.

Table II.4

Extended Arrangements in Effect During Financial Year Ended April 30, 1999

(In millions of SDRs)

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The authorities have indicated their intention not to draw under the arrangement.

Original amount approved was equivalent to the undrawn balance of the canceled Stand-By Arrangement (SDR 4,669 million). The arrangement was later increased by SDR 714 million.

Increased by SDR 6,306 million in 1998/99. Included SDR 4 billion available until July 19,1999 under the Supplemental Reserve Facility (SRF). Canceled prior to expiration date of March 25, 2000.