Front Matter Page

Handbook of IMF Facilities for Low-Income Countries

March 21, 2012

This Handbook provides guidance to staff on the financial facilities for low-income countries (LICs) that became effective in January 2010 (ECF, SCF, andRCF), and the PSI. Designed as a comprehensive reference tool for program work on low-income countries, the Handbook also refers, in summary form, to a range of relevant policies that apply more generally to IMF members. As with all guidance notes, the relevant IMF Executive Board decisions, including the terms of the various LIC Trust Instruments that have been adopted by the Board, remain the sole legal authority on the matters covered in the Handbook.

Contents

• Acronyms and Abbreviations

• Introduction — Facilities Architecture Overview

• Chapter I — Extended Credit Facility

• Chapter II — Standby Credit Facility

• Chapter III— Rapid Credit Facility

• Chapter IV— Policy Support Instrument

• References

• Appendices

• I. Documentation and Review Process

• II. Quantitative Conditionality

• III. Staff-Monitored Programs and Other Track Records

• IV. HIPC and MDRI

• V. Poverty Reduction Objectives in the Context of Operations under the Fund’s Concessional Facilities, the PSI, and the HIPC Initiative

• VI. Eligibility to Use the Fund’s Facilities for Concessional Financing

• Introduction—Facilities Architecture Overview

  • A. Background

  • B. Choosing the Appropriate Facility

• Table

• 1. Choice of Low-Income Country—Key Factors

• Extended Credit Facility

  • A. Objectives and Qualification

    • Purpose and objective

    • Eligibility and qualification

  • B. Duration, Extensions, Cancellations, and Repeated Use

  • C. Concurrent Use and Blending

    • Concurrent use

    • Blending

  • D. Access

    • Determination of access—main criteria

    • Access norms

    • Access limits

    • The phasing of access

    • Access under blended financial assistance

    • Augmentations and reductions of access

    • Procedural safeguards on high access requests—DSAs and informal Board meetings

  • E. Financing Terms

  • F. Financing Assurances, Arrears, and Safeguards

    • Financing assurances

    • Arrears

    • Overdue obligations to the Fund

    • Safeguards assessments policy

  • G. Program Objectives and Design

    • Program objectives

    • Role of ECF financial support

    • Links to poverty reduction strategies and social spending

    • Debt sustainability analysis (DSA)

    • Collaboration with the World Bank and other development partners

  • H. Conditionality

    • Conditionality principles

    • Specification of program conditions

    • Waivers and modifications

    • Misreporting

  • I. Reviews and Disbursements

    • Purpose of program reviews

    • Timing of reviews, test dates, and disbursements

    • Addressing interruptions in program implementation: track records, combined reviews, and rephasing

  • J. Other Relevant Policies

• Standby Credit Facility

  • A. Objectives and Qualification

    • Purpose and objective

    • Eligibility and qualification

  • B. Duration, Extensions, Cancellations, and Repeated Use

  • C. Concurrent Use and Blending

    • Concurrent use

    • Blending

  • D. Access

    • Determination of access—main criteria

    • Access norms

    • Access limits

    • The phasing of access

    • Access under blended financial assistance

    • Augmentations and reductions of access

    • Procedural safeguards on high access requests—DSAs and informal Board meetings

  • E. Financing Terms

  • F. Financing Assurances, Arrears, and Safeguards

    • Financing assurances

    • Arrears

    • Overdue obligations to the Fund

    • Safeguards assessments policy

  • G. Program Objectives and Design

    • Program objectives

    • Role of SCF financial support

    • Links to poverty reduction strategies and social spending

    • Debt sustainability analysis (DSA)

    • Collaboration with the World Bank and other development partners

  • H. Conditionality

    • Conditionality principles

    • Specification of program conditions

    • Waivers and modifications

    • Misreporting

  • I. Reviews and Disbursements

    • Purpose of program reviews

    • Timing of reviews, test dates, and disbursements

    • Addressing interruptions in program implementation: track records, combined reviews, and rephasing

  • J. Other Relevant Policies

• Rapid Credit Facility

  • A. Objectives and Qualification

    • Purpose and objective

    • Eligibility and qualification

  • B. Repeated Use

  • C. Concurrent Use and Blending

    • Concurrent use

    • Blending

  • D. Access

    • Determination of access—main criteria

    • Access limits

    • Access under blended financial assistance

    • Procedural safeguards on high access requests—DSAs and informal Board meetings

  • E. Financing Terms

  • F. Financing Assurances, Arrears, and Safeguards

    • Arrears

    • Overdue obligations to the Fund

    • Safeguards assessments policy

  • G. Policy Objectives and Design

    • Policy objectives

    • Role of RCF financial support

    • Links to poverty reduction strategies and social spending

    • Debt sustainability analysis (DSA)

    • Collaboration with the World Bank and other development partners

  • H. Conditionality

    • Conditionality principles

    • Prior actions

    • Monitoring policies

    • Misreporting

  • I. Track Records

  • J. Other Relevant Policies

• Policy Support Instrument

  • A. Objectives and Qualification

    • Purpose and objective

    • Eligibility and qualification

  • B. Duration, Extensions, Cancellations, and Repeated Use

  • C. Concurrent Use

  • D. Financing Assurances, Arrears, and Safeguards

    • Financing assurances

    • Arrears

    • Overdue obligations to the Fund

    • Safeguards assessments policy

  • E. Program Objectives and Design

    • Program obj ectives

    • Links to poverty reduction strategies and social spending

    • Debt sustainability analysis (DSA)

    • Collaboration with the World Bank and other development partners

  • F. Conditionality

    • Conditionality principles

    • Specification of program conditions

    • Waivers and modifications

    • Misreporting

  • G. Program Reviews

    • Purpose of program reviews

    • “Fixed” review schedule and test dates

    • Noncompletion of reviews

  • H. Other Relevant Policies

Acronyms and Abbreviations