Title Page
IMF Annual Report 2022
CRISIS UPON CRISIS
2022 The pandemic was a crisis like no other. Two years later, the recovery has been hampered by further crisis upon crisis.
We live in a more shock-prone world. The development of vaccines and unprecedented monetary, fiscal, and financial support, including the IMF’s historic general special drawing right (SDR) allocation of about $650 billion, made a global recovery possible. But Russia’s invasion of Ukraine upended it, severely setting back global economic prospects.
Economic risks have risen sharply as a result. Geopolitical and social tensions have escalated as poverty and inequality have increased. Inflation in many countries has risen sharply, fueled by a combination of surging energy, food, and commodity prices, labor shortages, and supply disruptions. Public and private debt has reached new highs. With more limited fiscal space, countries will face increasingly difficult policy trade-offs as they tackle rising inflation, heightened macro-financial risks, and slowing growth. Emerging market and developing economies with large foreign currency borrowing and external financing needs will also need to prepare for possible turbulence in financial markets as the monetary policy stance in advanced economies tightens.
Even as policymakers focus on cushioning the impact of the war in Ukraine and the pandemic, the world is also facing sweeping forces of longer-term change, including those from the effects of climate change and the digital revolution. The impacts of these forces will inevitably play out in the balance of payments of individual countries, making structural reforms and improvements to policy frameworks all the more important for building resilience and achieving long-term, inclusive growth.
Today’s economic challenges-from the pandemic and spillovers of war to climate change and digitalization-reveal economic and geopolitical fault lines in the global economic and financial system. With many countries likely to need financial assistance, it has become ever more critical to maintain a reliable global financial safety net with the IMF at its center. To better support its members during these difficult times, the IMF is revisiting its policy advice, lending activities, and capacity building, including through the establishment of the Resilience and Sustainability Trust in April 2022.
Message from the Managing Director
Dear Reader,
The global economy is facing its biggest test since World War II.
Over the past year, the ongoing pandemic has continued to exact an enormous health and socioeconomic toll, affecting lives and livelihoods everywhere. In the midst of the nascent recovery, the world is facing a second, unprecedented shock: Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Millions of refugees have fled the fighting. Millions more remain internally displaced.
The economic consequences continue to reverberate. Soaring food and energy prices and broader inflation are hitting the most vulnerable the hardest-just as high debt and tightening global financial conditions make it even more difficult for governments to support them. In addition, there is a sharply increased risk of the world fragmenting into geopolitical and economic blocs that could reverse decades of gains in living standards. And there is no pause button on the climate crisis while we deal with these other crises.
The IMF is working to help our members address these challenges and keep moving forward on an increasingly difficult road to recovery.
Last year, our membership approved a historic $650 billion allocation of the IMF’s Special Drawing Rights to strengthen countries’ reserves, helping to provide much-needed liquidity support to countries worldwide.
Building on this achievement, we began the process of reforming our financing support, starting with efforts to boost the size of our concessional lending for low-income countries. This year, our members also agreed to launch the Resilience and Sustainability Trust-our first facility providing long-term affordable financing-to help our more vulnerable members build resilience against climate shocks and future pandemics.
Since the start of the pandemic, the IMF has approved $258 billion in new financing to 93 countries. We are now extending that support to those most heavily affected by the latest set of shocks.
This Annual Report emphasizes the work of the IMF’s Executive Board, whose guidance and oversight are essential. It also highlights the real-time advice, capacity development, and support the Fund has provided to our members.
Working together is the only way we can successfully address the challenges we face. Our member countries can count on us to nurture collective action for a strong and inclusive economy.
KRISTALINA GEORGIEVA
MANAGING DIRECTOR
SEPTEMBER 2022
About the IMF
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’s primary mission 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 one another. All IMF member countries are represented on its Executive Board, which discusses the national, regional, and global consequences of each member’s economic policies and approves IMF financing to help member countries address temporary balance of payments problems, as well as overseeing the IMF’s capacity development efforts. This Annual Report covers the activities of the Executive Board, IMF management, and the IMF staff during the financial year (FY) May 1, 2021, through April 30, 2022, unless noted otherwise. The contents reflect the views and policy discussions of the IMF Executive Board, which has actively participated in the preparation of this Annual Report.
The IMF’s financial year is May 1 through April 30. The analysis and policy considerations expressed in this publication are those of the IMF Executive Directors. The IMF’s unit of account is the special drawing right (SDR); conversions of IMF financial data to US dollars are approximate and provided for convenience. On April 29, 2022, the SDR/US dollar exchange rate was US$1 = SDR 0.743880, and the US dollar/SDR exchange rate was SDR 1 = US$1.34430. The year-earlier rates (April 30, 2021) were US$1 = SDR 0.696385 and SDR 1 = US$1.43599. “Billion” means a thousand million; “trillion” means a thousand billion; minor discrepancies between constituent figures and totals are due to rounding. As used in this Annual Report, the term “country” does not in all cases refer to a territorial entity that is a state as understood by international law and practice. As used here, the term also covers some territorial entities that are not states but for which statistical data are maintained on a separate and independent basis. The boundaries, colors, denominations, and any other information shown on any maps do not imply on the part of the IMF any judgment on the legal status of any territory or any endorsement or acceptance of such boundaries.
On April 29, 2022, the SDR/US dollar exchange rate was US$1 = SDR 0.743880
the US dollar/SDR exchange rate was SDR 1 = US$1.34430
The IMF’s three main roles
Economic surveillance
Provide member countries with advice on adopting policies to achieve macroeconomic stability, accelerate economic growth, and alleviate poverty
Lending
Make financing available to member countries to help address balance of payments problems, including foreign exchange shortages that occur when external payments exceed foreign exchange earnings
Capacity development
Deliver capacity development (including technical assistance and training), when requested, to help member countries strengthen their economic institutions to design and implement sound economic policies
The IMF’s headquarters is in Washington, DC, and its offices around the world aim to promote its global reach and maintain close ties with its members. For more information on the IMF and its member countries, visit www.imf.org.
Acronyms and Abbreviations
| AML/CFT | anti-money laundering/combating the financing of terrorism |
| BBA | bilateral borrowing agreement |
| CCRT | Catastrophe Containment and Relief Trust |
| CD | capacity development |
| CMAP | Climate Macroeconomic Assessment Program |
| COVID-19 | disease caused by the coronavirus |
| DMF | Debt Management Facility |
| DSSI | Debt Service Suspension Initiative |
| ECF | Extended Credit Facility |
| EFF | Extended Fund Facility |
| EMDEs | emerging market and developing economies |
| FCL | Flexible Credit Line |
| FSAP | Financial Sector Assessment Program |
| FSSF | Financial Sector Stability Fund |
| FY | financial year |
| G20 | Group of Twenty |
| GDP | gross domestic product |
| GNI | gross national income |
| GRA | General Resources Account |
| HIPC | Heavily Indebted Poor Countries |
| IDA | International Development Association |
| ICD | Institute for Capacity Development |
| IEO | Independent Evaluation Office |
| IMF | International Monetary Fund |
| MNRW | Managing Natural Resource Wealth |
| NAB | New Arrangements to Borrow |
| PFTAC | Pacific Financial Technical Assistance Center |
| PIMA | Public Investment Management Assessment |
| PLL | Precautionary and Liquidity Line |
| PRGT | Poverty Reduction and Growth Trust |
| PRS | Poverty Reduction Strategy |
| RCF | Rapid Credit Facility |
| RFI | Rapid Financing Instrument |
| RSF | Resilience and Sustainability Facility |
| RST | Resilience and Sustainability Trust |
| SBA | Stand-By Arrangement |
| SCF | Standby Credit Facility |
| SDR | special drawing right |
| SLL | Short-Term Liquidity Line |
| UCT | upper credit tranche |
| UN | United Nations |
Contents
Part One IN FOCUS
COVID-19 and the War in Ukraine ‘
A More Equitable Recovery
Debt Dynamics
Climate Change, Digitalization, and Inclusion
Part Two WHAT WE DO
Economic Surveillance
Lending
Capacity Development
Part Three WHO WE ARE
Executive Directors
Management Team
Resources
Accountability
Corporate Social Responsibility