Questions on International Monetary Fund (IMF) are very common in all competitive exams. After reading this brief article you will know all basic information about the International Monetary Fund (IMF), we have tried to cover all types of questions on IMF, which are generally asked in the various competitive exams.
International Monetary Fund (IMF): IMF is an international organization that was created on July 22, 1944 at the Bretton Woods Conference and came into existence on December 27, 1945 when 29 countries signed the Articles of Agreement. It originally had 45 members. In 1947, France became the first country to borrow from the IMF.
Objectives of IMF: The IMF’s stated goal was to stabilize exchange rates and assist the reconstruction of the world’s international payment system post-World War II. Countries contribute money to a pool through a quota system from which countries with payment imbalances can borrow funds on a temporary basis (short term). The organization’s objectives are to promote international economic cooperation, international trade, employment, and exchange rate stability.
Headquarters: Its headquarters are in Washington, D.C.
Members: The members of the IMF are 188 members of the UN and the Republic of Kosovo. All members of the IMF are also International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD) members and vice versa.
IMF Managing Director: On June 28, 2011, Christine Lagarde (present MD) was named Managing Director of the IMF, replacing Dominique Strauss-Kahn. Previous Managing Director Dominique Strauss-Kahn was arrested in connection with charges of sexually assaulting a New York room attendant.
Special Drawing Rights (SDR): The SDR is an artificial currency created by the IMF in 1969. SDRs are allocated to member countries and can be fully converted into international currencies so they serve as a supplement to the official foreign reserves of member countries. Its value is based on a basket of key international currencies (U.S. dollar, euro, yen and pound sterling).