International Financial Institutions

Money & Banking International Financial Institutions

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Presented to: Prof. Naseem Bukhari

Presented by: Nada Zain <36>Hina Qamar<26>Maria Ehsan<05>

Maryam Arshad<22>Zohra Niazi<48>

BBA evening 2007-11 [4th semester]

Date: 27th of May, 2009WEDNESDAY

Institute of Business Administration, Punjab University, Lahore


ACKNOWLEDGEMENT _____________________________________________________________ I

ABSTRACT ________________________________________________________________________II

FINANCIAL SYSTEM..................................................................................................................................3

1. MONEY.....................................................................................................................................................32. FINANCIAL INSTRUMENTS........................................................................................................................33. FINANCIAL MARKETS...............................................................................................................................34. FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS........................................................................................................................35. CENTRAL BANKS......................................................................................................................................3

FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS......................................................................................................................3

INTERNATIONAL FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS..................................................................................3

Definition................................................................................................................................................3Explanation.............................................................................................................................................4

TYPES OF INTERNATIONAL FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS................................................................................4Bretton Woods institutions......................................................................................................................4Regional development banks...................................................................................................................4Bilateral development banks...................................................................................................................4Other regional financial institutions.......................................................................................................4

HISTORY.......................................................................................................................................................5Need for the IFIs.....................................................................................................................................5Bretton woods conference.......................................................................................................................5

HOW IFIS WORK?.........................................................................................................................................6

THE IMF.........................................................................................................................................................6

PURPOSES.....................................................................................................................................................7SOURCE OF FUNDING...................................................................................................................................7

1. The Quota system................................................................................................................................72. Gold holdings......................................................................................................................................73. Borrowing arrangements....................................................................................................................84. Interest charges and Fees...................................................................................................................9

FUNCTIONS...................................................................................................................................................9Surveillance.............................................................................................................................................9Technical Assistance...............................................................................................................................9Lending...................................................................................................................................................9

QUOTAS......................................................................................................................................................13Definition..............................................................................................................................................13Quotas of some Member: [Table].........................................................................................................13The Multifaceted Role of Quotas..........................................................................................................14

SPECIAL DRAWING RIGHTS (SDRS)...........................................................................................................14SDR Valuation......................................................................................................................................15How is SDR calculated?.......................................................................................................................15SDR Interest Rate..................................................................................................................................15SDR Interest rate calculation................................................................................................................16

PAKISTAN AND IMF.................................................................................................................................16

LENDING HISTORY:....................................................................................................................................16IMF’S ATTITUDE TOWARDS US..................................................................................................................18

THE WORLD BANK...................................................................................................................................19

HISTORY.....................................................................................................................................................19OBJECTIVE..................................................................................................................................................19WORLD BANK: A BANK?...........................................................................................................................19PURPOSES...................................................................................................................................................19

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DIFFERENCE BETWEEN WORLD BANK AND THE IMF................................................................................20MILLENNIUM DEVELOPMENT GOALS (MDGS)..........................................................................................21WORLD BANK GROUP................................................................................................................................23

International Bank for Recosruction and Delopment. (IBRD).............................................................23The International Development Association (IDA)..............................................................................24

WORLD BANK’S AREAS OF OPERATION.....................................................................................................25PROJECTS OF WORLD BANK IN PAKISTAN.................................................................................................25

ASIAN DEVELOPMENT BANK...............................................................................................................28

AIM............................................................................................................................................................28ORGANIZATION..........................................................................................................................................28LENDING.....................................................................................................................................................29NOTABLE PROJECTS...................................................................................................................................29MEMBERS...................................................................................................................................................29

ISLAMIC DEVELOPMENT BANK..........................................................................................................29

ESTABLISHMENT.........................................................................................................................................29PURPOSE.....................................................................................................................................................29FUNCTIONS.................................................................................................................................................30MEMBERSHIP..............................................................................................................................................30HEAD OFFICE AND REGIONAL OFFICES.....................................................................................................30RESOURCE MOBILIZATION.........................................................................................................................30

CRITICISM ON IMF AND THE WORLD BANK..................................................................................31

1. CONDITIONALITIES.................................................................................................................................312. IMPACT ON PUBLIC HEALTH..................................................................................................................323. DEVALUATIONS......................................................................................................................................334. CRITICISM FROM FREE MARKET ADVOCATES.........................................................................................335. IMF/WORLD BANK SUPPORT OF MILITARY DICTATORSHIPS.................................................................336. IMF & WB : SECRETIVE INSTITUTIONS WITH NO ACCOUNTABILITY.....................................................347. DEMOCRACY IS BEING TORN APART BY A FINANCIAL OLIGARCHY (MIGHT IS RIGHT)..........................348. VIOLATION OF ISLAMIC PRINCIPLES......................................................................................................359. IMF POLICIES HURT THE ENVIRONMENT...............................................................................................3510.THE IMF BAILS OUT RICH BANKERS, CREATING A MORAL...................................................................3611. OTHER CONTROVERSIES......................................................................................................................36SOME IRONIC FACTS ABOUT THE IFIS:.......................................................................................................36CRITICISM BY SOME FAMOUS PERSONALITIES...........................................................................................37WHY DO COUNTRIES SIGN AGREEMENTS WITH THE IFI’S IF THE CONSEQUENCES ARE ULTIMATELY NEGATIVE?.................................................................................................................................................37IMF & THE 3RD WORLD..............................................................................................................................37

RESPONSE TO CRITICISM.....................................................................................................................39

SUGGESTIONS...........................................................................................................................................40

Conclusion......................................................................................................................................................40

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Financial SystemThese are the five main parts that together make up financial system:

1. MoneyTo pay for purchases and store wealth

2. Financial InstrumentsTo transfer wealth from savers to investors and to transfer risk to those best equipped to bear it.

3. Financial MarketsBuy and sell financial instruments

4. Financial Institutions.Provide access to financial markets (a finical intermediary)

“A financial institution is an institution that provides financial services for its clients or members.”

Financial institutions are often regulated be Government bodies

5. Central BanksMonitor financial Institutions and stabilize the Economy

Financial InstitutionsFinancial Institutions are one important pillar of the financial system. Their main functions include:

Reduce transactions cost by specializing in the issuance of standardized securities Reduce information costs of screening and monitoring borrowers. Issue short term liabilities and purchase long-term loans.

International Financial Institutions

DefinitionInternational Financial Institutions (IFIs) refers to financial institutions that have been established (or chartered) by more than one country and hence are subject to international law.

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http://en.mimi.hu/business/subject_to.html


Explanation Their owners or shareholders are generally national governments, although other international institutions and other organisations occasionally figure as shareholders. The most prominent IFIs are creations of multiple nations, although some bilateral financial institutions (created by two countries) exist and are technically IFIs. Many of these are multilateral development banks.

The best-known IFIs are the World Bank, the IMF, and the regional development banks. Some of the IFIs are considered UN agencies.

Types of International Financial InstitutionsThe IFIs can be classified into following main categories:

Bretton Woods institutionsThe best-known IFIs were established after World War II to assist in the reconstruction of Europe and provide mechanisms for international cooperation in managingthe global financial system.Examples: They include the World Bank, the IMF, the International Finance Corporation, and other members of the World Bank Group.

Regional development banks The regional development banks consist of several regional institutions that have functions similar to the World Bank group's activities, but with particular focus on a specific region. Shareholders usually consist of the regional countries plus the major donor countries.Examples: The best-known of these regional banks cover regions that roughly correspond to United Nations regional groupings, including the Inter-American Development Bank (which works in the Americas, but primarily for development in Latin America and the Caribbean); the Asian Development Bank; the African Development Bank; and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development.

Bilateral development banks Bilateral development banks are financial institutions set up by individual contries to finance development projects in developing countries and emerging markets. Examples: include the Netherlands Development Finance Company FMO and the German Development Bank DEG.

Other regional financial institutions Several regional groupings of countries have established international financial institutions to finance various projects or activities in areas of mutual interest.Examples: The largest and most important of these is the European Investment Bank, an institution established by the members of the European Union. Other examples include the Black Sea Development Bank, the International Investment Bank (established by the countries of the former Soviet Union and Eastern Europe), the Islamic Development Bank and the Nordic Investment Bank.

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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_Nations_System

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IMF

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_Bank

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Multilateral_development_bank

http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=International_institution&action=edit&redlink=1


History Our main focus of our project is on the Bretton-Woods sister IFIs the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank so we added a brief history of these institutions too.

Need for the IFIsAfter the Great Depression in the 1930s there was a need for an organization to create a system for exchange rate stability

Countries’ economies were adversely affected by WWII . There was a need for reconstruction in well-developed nations. And also need for development in the lesser developed nations

The World Bank and the International Monetary Fund were created in the aftermath of World War II, to direct investments to the neediest countries of the world, the Bank, and to ensure international monetary cooperation, the Fund. However, these International Financial Institutions (IFIs) have changed their roles over the last few decades, becoming international advocates of controversial economic policies in developing countries. The governance of the Bank and the Fund is severely skewed towards rich countries which dominate decision-making in these institutions.

Bretton woods conferenceMeeting at Bretton Woods, N.H. (July 1–22, 1944), during World War II to make financial arrangements for the postwar world after the expected defeat of Germany and Japan. In the summer of 1944, delegates from 44 countries met in the midst of World War II to reshape the world's international financial system.

The location of the meeting - in the plush Mount Washington Hotel in rural Bretton Woods, New Hampshire - was designed to ensure that the delegates would have no distractions, and no pressure from lobbyists or Congressmen, as they worked on their plans for post-war reconstruction.

The meeting was born out of the determination by US President Franklin D Roosevelt and UK Prime Minister Winston Churchill to ensure post-war prosperity through economic co-operation, avoiding the economic conflicts between countries in the 1930s that they believed contributed to the drift to war.

The principal negotiators at the meeting were the US, represented by the US Treasury's Harry Dexter White, and the UK's John Maynard Keynes, who was serving as UK Treasury adviser despite declining health.

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And chairing the proceedings was Henry Morgenthau, the US Treasury Secretary, from the only country that was likely to emerge from the war with a strengthened economy. President Roosevelt told the conference: "The economic health of every country is a proper matter of concern to all its neighbors, near and distant.”

How IFIs work?The Fund offers its programs to a government in need. The government is, however, said to 'own' the program.

At the outset it signs a so-called Letter of Intent which lays out the elements of the recovery plan and in return the Fund commits itself to grant loans in stages as and when economic targets specified in the Letter are achieved. These will include cutting budget deficits and inflation.

But today there are other components in IMF programs that have become more important. In East Asia the Fund demanded the reform of the banking system in Thailand and Indonesia and the introduction of proper formal accounting systems in South Korea.

Similarly the Bank now looks more at the long-term strategic goals of an economy than at traditional development schemes such as new highways and dams.

One of the World Bank's priorities is therefore its commitment to achieve the Millennium Development Goals (as agreed upon in Monterrey), which were designed to significantly reduce the indebtedness of developing countries. These new approaches are gradually taking hold as the influence of globalization becomes more apparent. The emphasis is on providing better guiding and flanking measures whilst at the same time providing greater coherence with the objectives pursued by other UN organizations. In addition, developing countries want to have a greater say regarding the make-up of the IFI's structures, despite their limited contribution to these bodies.

The IMFThe International Monetary Fund (IMF) is an international organization that oversees the global financial system by following the macroeconomic policies of its member countries, in particular those with an impact on exchange rates and the balance of payments. It is an organization formed to stabilize international exchange.

The IMF was formally organized on December 27, 1945, when the first 29 countries signed its Articles of Agreement. Now, the IMF has huge influence in the world economy.It is a specialized agency of the United Nations but has its own charter, governing structure, and finances. Its members are represented through a quota system broadly based on their relative size in the global economy.

The IMF has 185 member countries. The headquarter of the IMF is in Washington D.C.

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IMF’s unit of account is SDR (-SDRs will further be elaborated later in this report-).

The current Managing Director of IMF is a French Jew named Dominique Strauss-Kahn .

Balance of payments difficulties or to assist with poverty reduction. The IMF works with other international organizations to promote growth and poverty reduction. It also interacts with think tanks, civil society, and the media on a daily basis. [or at least that’s what they say,- in the later half ( the critical review part) of this report you’ll see the what the IMF is really doing-]

PurposesFollowing are the main Articles of Agreement of the IMF:i) promote international monetary cooperation

ii) expansion and balanced growth of international trade

iii) promote exchange rate stability

iv) help establish multilateral system of payments and eliminate foreign exchange

restrictions

v) make resources of the Fund available to members

vi) Shorten the duration and lessen the degree of disequilibrium in international balances

of payments

However, the real undisclosed purposes that the critics argue upon are highly

controversial and completely different from the above articles.

Source of FundingWhere does IMF get it’s money? The IMF gets the funding for the loans from the following sources:

1. The Quota systemMost of the funding comes from the quota subscriptions. “It is the money each member contributes when joining the IMF.”

2. Gold holdingsTotal gold holdings 103.4 million ounces (3,217 metric tons). IMF is the third largest official holder of gold in the world.

The IMF’s total gold holdings are valued on its balance sheet at SDR 5.9 billion (about $8.7 billion) on the basis of historical cost. As of March 31, 2009, the IMF's holdings amounted to $94.8 billion (at then current market prices).

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IMF is prohibited from buying gold or engaging in other gold transactions.85% majority (of total voting power) needed for sale and purchase of gold.

How and when the IMF used goldOutflows of gold from the IMF's holdings occurred under the original Articles of Agreement through sales of gold for currency, and via payments of remuneration and interest. As noted, since the Second Amendment of the Articles of Agreement, outflows of gold can only occur through outright sales. Key gold transactions included:

• Sales for replenishment (1957-70). The IMF sold gold on several occasions to replenish its holdings of currencies.• South African gold (1970-71). The IMF sold gold to members in amounts roughly corresponding to those purchased from South Africa during this period.• Investment in U.S. government securities (1956-72). In order to generate income to offset operational deficits, some IMF gold was sold to the United States and the proceeds invested in U.S. government securities. Subsequently, a significant buildup of IMF reserves prompted the IMF to reacquire this gold from the U.S. government.• Auctions and "restitution" sales (1976-80). The IMF sold approximately one third (50 million ounces) of its then-existing gold holdings following an agreement by its members to reduce the role of gold in the international monetary system. Half of this amount was sold in restitution to members at the then-official price of SDR 35 per ounce; the other half was auctioned to the market to finance the Trust Fund, which supported concessional lending by the IMF to low-income countries.• Off-market transactions in gold (1999-2000). In December 1999, the Executive Board authorized off-market transactions in gold of up to 14 million ounces to help finance the IMF's participation in the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) Initiative. Between December 1999 and April 2000, separate but closely linked transactions involving a total of 12.9 million ounces of gold were carried out between the IMF and two members (Brazil and Mexico) that had financial obligations falling due to the IMF. In the first step, the IMF sold gold to the member at the prevailing market price and the profits were placed in a special account invested for the benefit of the HIPC Initiative. In the second step, the IMF immediately accepted back, at the same market price, the same amount of gold from the member in settlement of that member's financial obligations. In the end, these transactions left balance of the IMF's holdings of physical gold unchanged.

3. Borrowing arrangementsIf necessary, the IMF may borrow from a number of its financially strongest member countries to supplement the resources available from its quotas. It has done so on several occasions when borrowing countries needed large amounts of financing and a failure to help them might have put the international monetary system at risk.The IMF maintains two standing multilateral borrowing arrangements

1. the New Arrangement to Borrow (NAB)2. the General Arrangements to Borrow (GABs)

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http://www.imf.org/external/np/exr/facts/hipc.htm

http://www.imf.org/external/np/exr/facts/hipc.htm

http://www.imf.org/external/np/exr/facts/prgf.htm


GAB“Line of credit set up with several governments and banks throughout the world”

The General Arrangements to Borrow (GAB) was established in 1962 as a borrowing facility between the IMF and the G10 (in 1962, the G10 consisted of eight industrialized nations – Belgium, Canada, France, Italy, Japan, the Netherlands, the UK and the US – and the central banks of two others – Germany and Sweden; the composition of the G10 has since changed); the G10 agreed in advance to a maximum amount it would loan to the Fund in the event the Fund needed additional resources to finance drawings made by member nations. The IMF repays the GABs less than a year later, following quota increases.The GAB has been utilized several times throughout the IMF's history, most recently In February 2009, the IMF signed a bilateral borrowing agreement with Japan. For US$100 billion (about SDR 68 billion)

4. Interest charges and Fees The IMF also earns income from the interest charges and fees levied on its loans. It uses this income to meet funding costs, pay for administrative expenses, and maintain precautionary balances.

FunctionsThe work of the IMF is of three main types:

Surveillance Technical Assistance Lending

in addition to these three IMF also plays an important role in the fight against money-laundering and terrorism

Surveillance IMF’s regular monitoring of economies and associated provision of policy advice known as surveillance.The IMF oversees the international monetary system and monitors the financial and economic policies of its members. It keeps track of economic developments on a national, regional, and global basis

Technical AssistanceTo assist mainly low- and middle-income countries in effectively managing their economies, the IMF provides practical guidance and training on how to upgrade institutions, and design appropriate macroeconomic, financial, and structural policies.

Lending

The IMF provides loans to countries that have trouble meeting their international payments and cannot otherwise find sufficient financing on affordable terms.

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This financial assistance is designed to help countries restore macroeconomic stability by rebuilding their international reserves, stabilizing their currencies, and paying for imports—all necessary conditions for relaunching growth. The IMF also provides concessional loans to low-income countries to help them develop their economies and reduce poverty

A country in severe financial trouble, unable to pay its international bills, poses potential problems for the international financial system, which the IMF was created to protect. Any member country, whether rich, middle-income, or poor, can turn to the IMF for financing if it has a balance of payments need—that is, if it cannot find sufficient financing on affordable terms in the capital markets to make its international payments and maintain a safe level of reserves.

The changing nature of lending:

About four out of five member countries have used IMF credit at least once. But the amount of loans outstanding and the number of borrowers have fluctuated significantly over time.

In the first two decades of the IMF's existence, more than half of its lending went to industrial countries. But since the late 1970s, these countries have been able to meet their financing needs in the capital markets.

The oil shock of the 1970s and the debt crisis of the 1980s led many lower- and lower-middle-income countries to borrow from the IMF. In the 1990s, the transition process in central and Eastern Europe and the crises in

emerging market economies led to a further increase in the demand for IMF resources.In 2004, benign economic conditions worldwide meant that many countries began to repay their loans to the IMF. As a consequence, the demand for the Fund’s resources dropped off sharply (see graph).

But in 2008, the IMF began making loans again to countries hit by the financial crisis and high food and fuel prices. In

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late 2008 and early 2009 the IMF lent $60 billion to emerging markets affected by the crisis.

While the financial crisis has sparked renewed demand for IMF financing, the decline in lending that preceded the financial crisis also reflected a need to adapt the IMF's lending instruments to the changing needs of member countries. In response, the IMF conducted a wide-ranging review of its lending facilities and terms on which it provides loans.

In March 2009, the Fund announced a major overhaul of its lending framework, including modernizing conditionality, introducing a new flexible credit line, enhancing the flexibility of the Fund’s regular stand-by lending arrangement, doubling access limits on loans, adapting its cost structures for high-access and precautionary lending, and streamlining instruments that were seldom used. It has also speeded up lending procedures and redesigned its Exogenous Shocks Facility to make it easier to access for low-income countries.

Three main purposes of lending

Article I of the IMF's Articles of Agreement states that the purpose of lending by the IMF is "...to give confidence to members by making the general resources of the Fund temporarily available to them under adequate safeguards, thus providing them with opportunity to correct maladjustments in their balance of payments without resorting to measures destructive of national or international prosperity."

In practice, the purpose of the IMF's lending has changed dramatically since the organization was created. Over time, the IMF's financial assistance has evolved from helping countries deal with short-term trade fluctuations to supporting adjustment and addressing a wide range of balance of payments problems resulting from terms of trade shocks, natural disasters, post-conflict situations, broad economic transition, poverty reduction and economic development, sovereign debt restructuring, and confidence-driven banking and currency crises.

Today, IMF lending serves three main purposes.

1. First, it can smooth adjustment to various shocks, helping a member country avoid disruptive economic adjustment or sovereign default, something that would be extremely costly, both for the country itself and possibly for other countries through economic and financial ripple effects (known as contagion).

2. Second, IMF programs can help unlock other financing, acting as a catalyst for other lenders. This is because the program can serve as a signal that the country has adopted sound policies, reinforcing policy credibility and increasing investors' confidence.

3. Third, IMF lending can help prevent crisis. The experience is clear: capital account crises typically inflict substantial costs on countries themselves and on other countries through contagion. Today, IMF lending serves three main purposes.

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Main lending facilities

The Stand-By Arrangement is a key lending facility established in 1952. Although its use has been declining in recent years, it has remained the most popular facility for middle-income countries that seek financial assistance. Under its structure, financing is provided in support of adjustment to a balance of payments need and disbursed in tranches based on conditions spelled out in the program. The IMF's largest loans have traditionally been provided under SBAs.

LOAN INSTRUMENTS : briefly1. Stand-By Arrangements (SBA):

o Countries address short-term BOP problemso Provided greatest amount of IMF resourceso The length is typically 12-24 monthso Repayment within 2¼-4 yearso Surcharges apply to high access levels

2. Poverty Reduction and Growth Facility (PRGF) & Exogenous Shocks Facility (ESF):o Low-income countrieso Largest number of IMF loans in recent years.o Interest rate 0.5 percento Repaid over a period of 5½-10 years.

3. Extended Fund Facility (EFF):o Countries with longer-term BOP problemso Arrangements under usually 3 years.o Repayment within 4½-7 yearso Surcharges apply to high levels of access.

4. Supplemental Reserve Facility (SRF):o Short-term financing on a large scaleo Repayment within 1-1½ years.o Surcharge of 3-5 percent

5. Short-Term Liquidity Facility (SLF):o Countries with pure liquidity shockso Short durationo Access limit of 500 % of quotao Maturity of 3 monthso Renewal up to two times within a year

6. Compensatory Financing Facility (CFF):o Countries experiencing a sudden shortfall in export earningso Increase in the cost of cereal importso Carry no surcharge

7. Emergency assistance:o Countries that have experienced a natural disastero Emerging from conflicto Subject to the basic rate of charge

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o Interest subsidies are availableo Must be repaid within 3¼-5 years.

8. The IMF has introduced a new Flexible Credit Line (FCL) for countries with very strong fundamentals, policies, and track record of policy implementation.

Quotas

DefinitionThe IMF is working on wide-ranging reforms to make sure it meets the needs of its member countries. One of the most important elements is governance reform, which involves adjusting quota shares to better reflect the relative weight of member countries in the world economy and enhancing the voice and participation of low-income members within the institution.IMF decides on the quota for each member, richer countries have larger quota. Each member country of the IMF is assigned a quota, based broadly on its relative size in the world economy and characteristics .Quotas are denominated in Special Drawing Rights (SDRs), the IMF's unit of account. US, having largest economy, provides 44% of the total quota US has largest voting power 17.09%.Quotas are reviewed every 5 years by the IMF. They are calculated by a formula. Quotas also determine how much each member can borrow from the IMF when in need of aid.

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Quotas of some Member: [Table]

The Multifaceted Role of QuotasCurrently, a member's quota plays a key role in defining four aspects of that member's relationship with the IMF:(1) The amount of financial resources that a member contributes to the IMF; (2) The member's voting power in institutional decision making (along with basic votes); (3) The level of access of the member to IMF financing; and(4) The members' share of general Special Drawing Rights (SDR) allocations.

When is a country in need?A country that had not taken in enough foreign currency to pay the other countries for what they have bought. Spends more money than it takes in. So the gap between earnings and payment is covered by taking loans from these IFI’s. That’s why IMF will lend foreign exchange to that member hoping to stabilize its currency which will strengthen its trade.

How much can a member borrow from the IMF?

Basically 25% of the country’s quota may be used. If this still is not sufficient, then members can borrow up to 3 times the amount of its quota. In order to do so the country

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(in need) present plans for reform to Executive Directors. If these plans are sufficient for the Executive Directors, the IMF grants the member a loan.

Special Drawing Rights (SDRs)

The SDR is an international reserve asset, created by the IMF in 1969 to supplement the existing official reserves of member countries. SDRs are allocated to member countries in proportion to their IMF quotas. The SDR also serves as the unit of account of the IMF and some other international organizations. Its value is based on a basket of key international currencies.

A country participating in this system needed official reserves—government or central bank holdings of gold and widely accepted foreign currencies—that could be used to purchase the domestic currency in world foreign exchange markets, as required maintaining its exchange rate.

The SDR is neither a currency, nor a claim on the IMF. Rather, it is a potential claim on the freely usable currencies of IMF members. Holders of SDRs can obtain these currencies in exchange for their SDRs in two ways: first, through the arrangement of voluntary exchanges between members; and second, by the IMF designating members with strong external positions to purchase SDRs from members with weak external positions.

SDR ValuationThe value of the SDR was initially defined as equivalent to 0.888671 grams of fine gold—which, at the time, was also equivalent to one U.S. dollar. After the collapse of the Bretton Woods system in 1973, however, the SDR was redefined as a basket of currencies, today consisting of the euro, Japanese yen, pound sterling, and U.S. dollar.in November 2005, the weights of the currencies in the SDR basket were revised based on the value of the exports of goods and services and the amount of reserves denominated in the respective currencies which were held by other members of the IMF. These changes became effective on January 1, 2006.next revision will be in 2010.

With effect from January 1, 2006, the IMF has determined that the four currencies that meet both selection criteria for inclusion in the SDR valuation basket will be assigned the following weights based on their roles in international trade and finance: U.S. dollar (44 percent), euro (34 percent), Japanese yen (11 percent), and pound sterling (11 percent).

How is SDR calculated?Monday, May 11, 2009

CurrencyWeights Currency amount under

Rule O-1Exchange rate 1 U.S. dollar

equivalentEuro 44% 0.4100 1.35910 0.557231

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Japanese yen 34% 18.4000 97.89000 0.187966 Pound sterling 11% 0.0903 1.51090 0.136434 U.S. dollar 11% 0.6320 1.00000 0.632000

1.513631

U.S.$1.00 = SDR 0.660663 2

SDR1 = US$ 1.51363 4

Notes: (1) The exchange rate for the Japanese yen is expressed in terms of currency units per U.S. dollar; other rates are expressed as U.S. dollars per currency unit.

SDR Interest RateThe IMF also reviewed the method for determining the SDR interest rate and decided to continue to set the weekly interest rate on the basis of a weighted average of interest rates on short-term instruments in the markets of the currencies included in the SDR valuation basket. However, the IMF has modified the representative interest rate for the euro, the three-month Euribor (Euro Inter-bank Offered Rate). The interest rate on the three-month United States and United Kingdom Treasury bills, and on the Japanese Government thirteen-week financing bills, will continue to serve as the representative interest rates for the U.S. dollar, pound sterling, and Japanese yen, respectively.

SDR Interest rate calculationFor the week of May 11, 2009 to May 17, 2009

(Data as of Friday, May 08, 2009)

Currency

Currency amount

under Rule O-1(A)

Exchange rate against the SDR 1

(B)Interest rate 2

(C)Product

(A) x (B) x (C)

Euro 0.4100 0.893571 0.7330 0.2685 Japanese Yen 18.4000 0.00670294 0.1950 0.0241 U.K. Pound Sterling 0.0903 1.0012 0.5500 0.0497 U.S. Dollar 0.6320 0.665602 0.1800 0.0757

Total 0.4180 SDR Interest Rate 3 0.42

Note: SDR per currency rates are based on the representative exchange rate for each currency.

Potential pitfalls as a reserve currencyThere are potential pitfalls of using the SDR as a reserve currency.

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• The current SDR is a relatively small basket of currencies; this is both a strong point and weak point of the SDR. • The US Dollar, Euro and UK Pound are contained in the SDR -- these currencies have been losing value against a larger basket of secondary reserve currencies since the late 2000s recession started in 2007. • The SDR does not contain Chinese Yuan, Indian Rupee, Australian Dollar or Canadian Dollar, which are important benchmark or secondary global reserve currencies. • The lack of global banking support for consumers (that is to say private persons and businesses) for the SDR.

Pakistan and IMF

Lending History:

Why does Pakistan need IMF?As Pakistan is a developing country and has a struggling economy (i.e. devalued Rupee, Political & economic instability, a monstrous 25% Inflation and a declining GDP etc...) we often have to turn to IMF for help.

Pakistan gets loans from IMF for the following main purposes:

Balance of payment deficits. Stabilization of currency. Rebuilding international reserves Managing liquidity problems.

History & Current Prospects:

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[* this graph is taken from IMF’s official site=== the first column shows the lending instruments (explained earlier) used]

o Since 1988, 11 loan arrangements have taken place.

o Six loan arrangements were made during the regime of Benazir Bhutto.

o Two of them were made during Nawaz Sharif regime.

o Two under Musharraf regime (to stabilize the economy).

o One IMF loan is made in current regime. (It was a hard step for a newly formed government to ask for IMF’s aid, just shortly after coming to power)

o 44% of the total lending amount has been drawn from the original 100% agreed upon lending amount.

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IMF’s attitude towards us

As we all know that IMF attitude towards developing nations has always been humiliating so same is the case with Pakistan as this report also shows:

Article from the News about the latest (24th Nov 2008) loan :

After minor changes in the 11-point agenda of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the Pakistan government has agreed to gradually impose the Central Excise Duty (CED) on services and agriculture sectors at the rate of eight to 18 per cent in place of the General Sales Tax (GST), The News learnt here on Saturday.

“In view of the IMF demand, the Pakistani currency will also be devalued after slight changes in the discount rate and exchange rate will be decreased officially by six to seven per cent,” an official in the Ministry of Finance disclosed, wishing to remain anonymous.

Moreover, the official said the release of 60 per cent funds for the next three quarters of the current financial year, under the Public Sector Development Program (PSDP), would be reviewed downward to 45 per cent.

According to the official, the foreign assistance flow had already declined by 40 per cent because donors have refused to provide funds for new projects at the federal and provincial levels under the PSDP against the ongoing projects funded by the Japan-IBRD, the World Bank, the Islamic Development Bank and the Asian Development Bank.

The IMF proposal received by the federal government in the last week of October contained 16 conditions having 180 points that were discussed in four meetings between Pakistani and IMF officials in Dubai, 1 the official disclosed. The official said that major conditions accepted by the Pakistan government included changes in the Islamic Development Bank loans and differentiation between loans and grants, devaluation of rupee, freezing of non-development expenditure under the defense budget for the last three quarters of the current financial year, non-provision of supplementary grants to government departments, ending subsidy on gas and electricity, 20 per cent reduction in non-development expenditure of civil departments and federal ministries, increase in markup rate of banks and on inter-bank transactions, uniformity in the inter-bank and open market dollar exchange rate and stoppage of government financial intervention in stock markets.

Under the conditions accepted by the government, the IMF will be informed at the time of the issuance of credit line by any international financial institution, including the World Bank or immediately after it, I the official said. The matters on which the government and its financial managers have differed with the IMF include release of $1.5 billion to$2 billion for the current financial year under the annual assistance package, I he said.The government wants the IMF to provide $3 billion and another $1.5 billion to $2 billion for adjustment of the loan installments and maintenance of the balance of payments during the current financial year, said the official.

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The World Bank

The World Bank is an international financial institution that provides financial and technical assistance to developing countries for development programs (e.g. bridges, roads, schools, etc.) with the stated goal of reducing poverty.

HistoryWorld bank came lnto existance on 27th December, 1945. it is the part of the United Nations with different governance structure.The World Bank is one of two major financial institutions created as a result of the Bretton Woods Conference in 1944. The International Monetary Fund, a related but separate institution, is the second. Delegates from a wide variety of countries attended the Bretton Woods Conference, but the most powerful countries in attendance, the United States and Britain, mainly shaped negotiations.

World Bank conceived during World War II at Bretton Woods, New Hampshire, the World Bank initially helped rebuild Europe after the war. Its first loan of $250 million was to France in 1947 for post-war reconstruction. Reconstruction has remained an important focus of the Bank's work, given the natural disasters, humanitarian emergencies, and post conflict rehabilitation needs that affect developing and transition economies. The first president of World Bank was Eugene Meyer (June 1946–December 1946) and current president is Robert Zoellick.

ObjectiveThe World Bank provides over $20 billion in assistance to developing and transition countries every year. The Bank's projects and policies affect the lives and livelihoods of billions of people worldwide - sometimes for the better, but very often in controversial and problematic ways.

World Bank: a Bank? The World Bank isn’t like the usual conventional banks. A single person cannot open an account or ask for a loan. Rather, the Bank provides loans, grants and technical assistance to countries and the private sector to reduce poverty in developing and transition countries.

PurposesWorld Bank background and objectives have expanded and evolved over the years. The original purpose and objectives as the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development was a facilitator role in post-war reconstruction. Since 1944, this role has expanded and World Bank's objectives have grown to develop its current mandate to

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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eugene_Meyer

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_Monetary_Fund

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bretton_Woods_Conference


alleviate worldwide poverty. They work closely with their affiliate, the International Development Association.With all this expansion and growth, World Bank's original focus has not changed. Today, reconstruction remains a top priority in such situations as:

Natural disasters Needs affecting developing economies Post conflict rehabilitation Needs affecting a transitioning economy

Difference between World Bank and the IMF

Most people have only the vaguest idea of what these institutions do, and very few people indeed could, if pressed on the point, say why and how they differ. Even John Maynard Keynes, a founding father of the two institutions and considered by many the most brilliant economist of the twentieth century, admitted at the inaugural meeting of the International Monetary Fund that he was confused by the names: he thought the Fund should be called a bank, and the Bank should be called a fund. Confusion has reigned ever since.

Both international organizations are known as the Bretton Woods Institutions. The actual differences between the two organizations, in reality, can be somewhat mixed. However, by principle, the IMF concerns itself with macroeconomics issues, such as balance of payment issues, international trade policy, and exchange rates. The founding idea was that there was a need for collective action on the international level for financial stability. The World Bank, ideally, is to deal with issues more related to structure within a country, such as how and what the government spends money on, financial institutions, labor markets and trade policies. The World Bank concerns itself more with development projects, which have been controversial in the past, such as dam construction. Both institutions are major advocates of neo liberal concepts such as the ability of the free market to solve many global economic problems.

We’ve listed down the main differences in a tabular form. So they could be understood with a minimum time and effort:

International Monetary Fund World Bank

1 Purposesoversees the international monetary system

seeks to promote the economic development of the world's poorer countries

2 Functionspromotes exchange stability and orderly exchange relations among its member countries

assists developing countries through long-term financing of development projects and programs

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3 Recipients of Fundingassists all members--both industrial and developing countries--that find themselves in temporary balance of payments difficulties by providing short- to medium-term credits

provides to the poorest developing countries whose per capita GNP is less than $865 a year special financial assistance through the International Development Association (IDA)

4 Operationssupplements the currency reserves of its members through the allocation of SDRs (special drawing rights); to date SDR 21.4 billion has been issued to member countries in proportion to their quotas

encourages private enterprises in developing countries through its affiliate, the International Finance Corporation (IFC)

5 Source of Funding draws its financial resources principally from the quota subscriptions of its member countries

acquires most of its financial resources by borrowing on the international bond market

6 Capitalhas at its disposal fully paid-in quotas now totaling SDR 145 billion (about $215 billion)

has an authorized capital of $184 billion, of which members pay in about 10 percent

7 Size and Structure has a staff of 2,300 drawn from

182 member countries has no affiliates or subsidiaries

has a staff of 7,000 drawn from 180 member countries

Millennium Development Goals (MDGs)The World Bank's current focus is on the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), lending primarily to "middle-income countries" at interest rates which reflect a small mark-up over its own (AAA-rated) borrowings from capital markets; while the IDA provides low or no interest loans and grants to low income countries with little or no access to international credit markets. The IBRD is a market-based nonprofit organization, using its high credit rating to make up for the relatively low interest rate on its loans, while the IDA is funded primarily by periodic "replenishments" (grants) voted to the institution by its more affluent member countries.

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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nonprofit_organization

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nonprofit_organization

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grant_(money)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Loan


In light of the enormous challenge facing the global community to eradicate poverty -- which affects nearly half of the world’s population living on less than $2 dollars a day -- the international development community in 2000 adopted specific targets for poverty reduction, now known as the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). The MDGs constitute 8 basic poverty reduction goals ranging from access to social services and gender equity to environmental sustainability. The overarching goal is to halve income poverty worldwide by 2015.

Goal 1: Eradicate extreme poverty and hunger Goal 2: Achieve universal primary educationGoal 3: Promote gender equality and empower womenGoal 4: Reduce child mortalityGoal 5: Improve maternal healthGoal 6: Combat HIV/AIDS, malaria, and other diseasesGoal 7: Ensure environmental sustainability Goal 8: Develop a global partnership for development

Improving Living StandardsAcross the earth, World Bank objectives touch lives for the better. World Bank development projects engage people to improve living standards while reducing poverty. In 2006, the World Bank contributed $23.6 billion for projects worldwide. Current projects within developing countries like Bosnia, Herzegovina, Mexico and India number more than 1,800.

Comprehensive Development Framework In 1998, the World Bank adopted a Comprehensive Development Framework. This framework directs the development of poverty-reduction strategies and is specifically designed to reach objectives. It outlines four principles:Development strategies should be comprehensive and shaped by a long-term vision. Each country should devise and direct its own development agenda based on citizen participation.Government donors, civil society, the private sector and other stakeholders should work together in partnership led by recipient countries to carry out development strategies.Development performance should be evaluated on the basis of measurable results.Detailed assessments track progress made in each country.

A Vital financial source around the world Currently, the more than 63,000 donor-funded development projects supported worldwide by the World Wide bank are individually governed by guidelines and procedures put in place to ensure aid gets into the hands of the poor. As donors coordinate their activities and synchronize procedures, that capacity within developing countries can be strengthened and improved.Since its inception in 1944, World Bank has proven to be a vital financial source around the world.

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World Bank GroupThe World Bank differs from the World Bank Group, in that the World Bank comprises only two institutions:International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD) International Development Association (IDA) Whereas the latter incorporates these two in addition to three more. International Finance Corporation (IFC) Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA) International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID)

International Bank for Recosruction and Delopment. (IBRD)OrignThe foundation of IBRD was laid in the same Bretton Wood conference in which IMF was established.

PurposeIt was founded in 1944 as a way to finance reconstruction projects in war-ravaged countries despite their poor creditworthiness.

FunctionsThe main functions of the bank are :To assist in process of reconstruction, development and restoration of countries destroyed by war.To promote long term balanced growth all around the world.To encourage international investments for development of the member countries.To encourage private foreign investments by means of gurantees.To help member countries in maintenances of equilibrium of BOP.To play a role so that smooth transition may take place from war time to peace time economies.

Mode of funding The IBRD gets its money from regular subscriptions paid by member governments and by borrowing money on international markets (through selling World Bank bonds). The Bank then lends that money to borrowing governments at a lower rate than commercial banks would. Although the IBRD still concentrates on development it operates primarily in mid-middle-income developing countries; in FY 1994, the IBRD was funded at about $17 billion.

LoansThe IBRD offers loans to developing country governments for a variety undertakings: Sectoral loans support reform or infrastructure improvement in a specific economic sector, i.e., mining, transport, energy, banking, etc.; project loans support the completion of a specific project, such as a dam, highway or power plant; and macroeconomic loans assist governments in achieving the economic objectives detailed in a structural

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adjustment program (more on structural adjustment programs, below). IBRD loans can cover the entire cost of a project, but Bank clout attracts many other sources of financing, especially from the private sector. Recently, the Bank has also started offering support for private investors themselves, in an effort to attract development money to Southern countries. Finally, IBRD also offers a host of technical assistance programs to its developing country members for "capacity building" and "technology transfer."

MembershipTo be eligible for IBRD loans, governments must be a member the World Bank, and comply with Bank-imposed Structural Adjustment Programs (SAPs), which have been severely criticized by NGOs worldwide as an unnecessarily harsh set of macroeconomic policies. SAPs are aimed at reducing government budget deficits by decreasing government expenditure (particularly on social programs), increasing export production, privatization, and liberalizing trade and investment policies. The purpose of these reforms is to help countries become more economically robust, creditworthy and able to pay off its debts. These policies are prerequisites for loan eligibility and often include provisions for reduced government spending on social services. The Bank offers advice and loans to help implement SAPs

The International Development Association (IDA)The World Bank is an internationally supported bank that provides financial help and technical assistance to developing nations. They do this under the guise of reducing poverty, although this group is highly controversial.

OrignIn 1959, the US made the resolution for the articles of agreement for IDA and in September 1960 the IDA was established.

Objectives and functionsIn words of articles of agreement of IDA, its function is“To promote economic development, increase productivity and thus raise standard of living in the low developed areas of the world.”The basic idea behind the establishment of IDA was to help those countries who are facing unfavorable BOP and simultaneously were in need of foreign investment but due to unfavorable BOP they were facing difficulties to justify incurrence of further debt. IDA in respect of such countries , help to finance developmental capital projects and long term fiscal programmes.And actually It was established to provide confessional (no interest or "soft") loans to the world's poorest governments.

Loans IDA's funding priorities are poverty alleviation, environmental protection, and sustainable development. Its loans, however "soft" they might be, are conditioned by harsh structural adjustment requirements. IDA and IBRD are often lumped in the same category, because they lend for the same purposes and focus primarily on government

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borrowers. However, IDA funding is considerably lower than that of the World Bank, amounting to $5.6 billion (about 34% that of IBRD's) in FY 1994.IDA is considering the establishment of two new financing services to enhance the private sector. The rationale is that through foreign investment, IDA countries could gain much-needed infrastructure. The first is a guarantee program that would encourage the penetration of foreign capital and multinational corporations. The second program is the IDA Private Investment Fund which would be IDA money managed by the International Finance Corporation

World Bank’s Areas of operationThe World Bank is active in the following areas: Agricultural and Rural

Development Conflict and Development Development Operations and

Activities Economic Policy Education Energy Environment Financial Sector Gender Governance Health, Nutrition and Population Industry Information and Communication

Technologies Information, Computing and

Telecommunications

International Economics and Trade

Labor and social protection Law and Justice Macroeconomic and Economic

Growth Mining Poverty Reduction Poverty Private Sector Public Sector Governance Rural Development Social Development Social Protection Trade Transport Urban Development Water Resources Water Supply and Sanitation

Projects of World Bank in Pakistan

Support reforms at both the federal and provincial level.The Federal and Provincial Governments have been implementing various reform programs aimed at encouraging growth, investment, and employment generation. Reforms at the provincial level are specifically aimed at improving delivery of social services like education, health, clean drinking water, and sanitation. In June 2007, the World Bank approved a US$350 million credit to support ongoing implementation of the Government's Poverty Reduction Strategy. At the provincial level, the Bank approved operations worth US$430 million for Punjab, Sindh and the North West Frontier Province to help improve irrigation, education and human development indicators through improvements in public finance, governance and financial regulatory frameworks. These interventions have been successful in bringing about concrete

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changes in delivery of provincial services and thus are social and economic indicators in these provinces.

Working with Pakistan Poverty Alleviation Fund to bring difference in the lives of poor. The World Bank funded Pakistan Poverty Alleviation Fund Project (PPAF) is designed to reduce poverty and empower the rural and urban poor in Pakistan through the provision of resources and services to the poor, especially women. This is being achieved through an integrated approach that includes building institutions of the poor and then providing them with micro-credit loans; grants for small scale infrastructure projects; training and skill development and social sector interventions. The program is impacting over 10 million people and has mobilized over 66,000 community organizations (COs) in 27,000 localities across 111 districts in the country. More than 13,000 small scale village-based projects have been identified, constructed and maintained by communities’ right across the country benefiting nearly 6 million people. PPAF has issued 1.5 million micro-credit loans, (average loan-size US$ 150), benefiting nearly 9 million people. Over the last 7 years PPAF has driven the microfinance sector growth from 60,000 borrowers to more than 1.25 million active borrowers in the sector.

Helping the victims of the Earthquake. The October 2005 earthquake in Pakistan destroyed or damaged around 575,000 rural houses, leaving more than 73,000 dead, and rendering over 3 million people without shelter in North West Frontier Province (NWFP) and Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJ&K). In response, the government created the Earthquake Relief and Reconstruction Authority (ERRA) and launched an ambitious US$1.5 billion owner-driven rebuilding program - largely suited to the mainly rural affected population. Under ERRA’s Rural Housing and Reconstruction Program (RHRP), partially funded by the World Bank, homeowners are given around US$3,000 in installments to build quake-resistant homes - with routine visits by inspection teams to ensure compliance to agreed seismic-resistant standards. Owner driven reconstruction and rehabilitation of an estimated 463,000 houses have begun and is at various stages of completion. The RHRP has disbursed over $1.1 billion to program beneficiaries or 75 percent of the overall $1.5 billion estimated cost.

Working with the government to improve education outcomes.The World Bank is providing assistance to the Government of Pakistan in education reforms, at both the national and the provincial level. This support is provided through development policy operations with a strong focus on primary and secondary education. These programs target increasing participation of girls and children from poorer household through interventions such as student stipends and conditional grant systems and by working in partnership with the private sector to provide access to low cost quality education. Our work has a strong focus on improving the quality of education through initiatives such as the National Education Assessment System (NEAS), which measures student achievement and uses the findings to address gaps in student learning.

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NEAS has established, piloted and improved assessment mechanisms and instruments, which are now being regularly administered.

Joining with international partners to help Pakistan fight polio. As part of our efforts to help eradicate polio globally, we approved two projects US$42.71 million in 2003 and US $ 74.27 million in 2006 for Pakistan to purchase the oral polio vaccine. The money is part of an innovative financing partnership (IDA Buy-down) between the World Bank, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Rotary International, and the United Nations Foundation. These organizations have formed the Investment Partnership for Polio, an initiative to help eradicate polio worldwide. The loan to Pakistan will help the country’s Polio Eradication Initiative which aims to make Pakistan a Polio free country.

Helping Pakistan prevent the spread of HIV/AIDS. The HIV-AIDS situation is changing rapidly in Pakistan; the latest data indicate a concentrated epidemic among injecting drug users in several cities. The key challenge facing the country is to expand and improve quality of HIV preventive services to vulnerable groups that are most at risk of contracting and transmitting the disease. These include sex workers and injecting drug users. The Bank is supporting the Government efforts to control AIDS through the HIV/AIDS Prevention Project designed to prevent the disease from becoming established in these populations, while at the same time working to protect these groups from stigmatization. A key focus of the project is delivery of HIV preventive services to high risk populations through public-private partnerships. A total of 17 service delivery packages for injecting drug users (IDUs), sex workers, truckers and jail inmates have been contracted out to NGOs by the National and Provincial AIDS Control Programs covering most major cities across the country.

The World Bank: relying on local expertise Around 90 percent of our staff in Islamabad office, plus additional staff in our Washington office are Pakistanis. While a large part of World Bank’s value is it’s global experience and expertise, local knowledge is indispensable to effective development. We also work closely with the Pakistan government, civil society and communities in designing our support for the country. Most importantly our overall assistance to the country is specifically designed to support its own development goals. We have periodic client satisfaction surveys through which we assess how our services are perceived by a cross section of society including the government, private sector, civil society, academia, and media etc. These polls are carried out globally by reputed international firms.

Evaluating ResultsIt’s one thing to set goals and objectives, but without an effective way to measure the results it's difficult to know if they are effectively being met.

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Asian Development BankThe Asian Development Bank (ADB) is a regional development bank established in 1966 to promote economic and social development in Asian and Pacific countries through loans and technical assistance. It is a multilateral development financial institution owned by 67 members (as of 2 February 2007), 48 from the region and 19 from other parts of the globe. ADB's vision is a region free of poverty. Its mission is to help its developing member countries reduce poverty and improve the quality of life of their citizens.

Aim: The work of the Asian Development Bank (ADB) is aimed at improving the welfare of the people in Asia and the Pacific, particularly the 1.9 billion who live on less than $2 a day. Despite many success stories, Asia and the Pacific remains home to two thirds of the world's poor.

The bank was conceived with the vision of creating a financial institution that would be "Asian in character" to foster growth and cooperation in a region that back then was one of the world's poorest. ADB raises funds through bond issues on the world's capital markets, while also utilizing its members' contributions and earnings from lending. These sources account for almost three quarters of its lending operations.

The primary human capital asset of the bank is its staff of professionals, encompassing academic and/or practical experts in the areas of agriculture, civil engineering, economics, environment, health, public policy and finance. Professional staff are drawn from its member countries and given various incentives to relocate to Manila.

It is conceivable that once all of Asia-Pacific reaches a certain level of living standard the bank will be wound down or reconfigured to operate as a commercial enterprise.

OrganizationThe highest policy-making body of the bank is the Board of Governors composed of one representative from each member state. The Board of Governors, in turn, elect among themselves the 12 members of the Board of Directors and their deputy. Eight of the 12 members come from regional (Asia-Pacific) members while the others come from non-regional members.

The Board of Governors also elect the bank's President who is the chairperson of the Board of Directors and manages ADB. The president has a term of office lasting five years, and may be reelected. Traditionally, and because Japan is one of the largest shareholders of the bank, the President has always been Japanese. The current President is Haruhiko Kuroda.

The headquarters of the bank is at 6 ADB Avenue, Mandaluyong City, Metro Manila, Philippines, and it has representative offices around the world. The bank employs approximately 2,400 people, coming from 55 of its 67 member countries, and with more than half of the staff being Filipino.

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LendingADB's annual project lending amounts to about US$7 billion per year with typical lending per project being in the $100 million range.

Notable Projects Afghan Diaspora Project Funding Utah State University led projects to bring labor skills in

Thailand Earthquake and Tsunami Emergency Support Project in Indonesia Greater Mekong Subregional Program ROC Ping Hu Offshore Oil and Gas Development Solar energy development funds in India Strategic Private Sector Partnerships for Urban Poverty Reduction in the

Philippines Trans-Afghanistan Gas Pipeline Feasibility Assessment Loan of $1.2 billion to bail it out of an impending economic crisis in

Pakistan

MembersADB has 67 members (Georgia being the 67th member joined in 2007)

Islamic Development Bank

Islamic Development Bank (also known as IsDB), is a multilateral development financing institution located in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.

EstablishmentThe Islamic by the Conference of Finance Ministers of Muslim Countries held in Jeddah in Dhul Q'adah 1393H, corresponding to December 1973. The Inaugural Meeting of the Board of Governors took place in Rajab 1395H, corresponding to July 1975, and the Bank was formally opened on 15 Shawwal 1395H corresponding to 20 October 1975.

On the basis of paid-up capital, the main shareholders of the Bank are from these countries:

Saudi Arabia Sudan Kuwait Libya Turkey

UAE Iran Egypt Indonesia Pakistan

Purpose The purpose of the Bank is to foster the economic development and social progress of member countries and Muslim communities individually as well as jointly in accordance with the principles of Shari'ah i.e., Islamic Law.

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FunctionsThe functions of the Bank are to participate in equity capital and grant loans for productive projects and enterprises besides providing financial assistance to member countries in other forms for economic and social development.

The Bank is authorized to accept deposits and to mobilize financial resources through Shari'ah compatible modes. It is also charged with the responsibility of assisting in the promotion of foreign trade especially in capital goods, among member countries; providing technical assistance to member countries; and extending training facilities for personnel engaged in development activities in Muslim countries to conform to the Shari'ah.

Shari'ah compatible practices include:

Loan Leasing Installment Sale

Istisna'a Equity Participation Lines of Financing

The unit of account of the bank is the Islamic Dinar. The Bank's financial year is the lunar Hijri year. The official language of the Bank is Arabic, but English and French are

additionally used as working languages.

MembershipThe present membership of the Bank consists of 56 countries. The basic condition for membership is that the prospective member country should be a member of the Organization of the Islamic Conference, pay its contribution to the capital of the Bank and be willing to accept such terms and conditions as may be decided upon by the IsDB Board of Governors.

Head Office and Regional Offices The Bank's principal office is in Jeddah in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Two regional offices were opened in 1994; one in Rabat, Morocco, and the other in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. In July 1996, the board of Executive Directors also approved the establishment of an IDB Representative Office at Almaty, Kazakhstan, to serve as a link between IDB member countries and Central Asian Republics. The office became operational in July 1997 and is now a full-fledged Regional Office. The Bank also has field representatives in eleven member countries. These are: Indonesia, Iran, Kazakhstan, Libya, Pakistan, Senegal, Sudan, Gambia, Guinea Bissau, Mauritania and Algeria.

Resource Mobilization

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As of 30/12/1428H (09/01/2008), the IDB’s total shareholders’ equity stood at ID 5.4 billion (US$ 8.5 billion equivalent) which is the main source of funding the IDB’s operations. In addition to this, IDB has mobilized US$ 900 million by way of issuance of two Sukuks. The first Sukuk was issued in 2003 for US$ 400 million which will mature in August, 2008 and the second one of US$ 500 million was issued in 2005 which will mature in 2010. IDB also mobilizes short-term resources from the market, as and when needed, using the Reverse Murabaha.

In order to meet the future funding requirements of the Bank, it is planned that IDB will tap the international market some time during 2008 to raise additional resources through issuance of Sukuk. The size and the currency of the Sukuk issues will be decided close to the time of issuance.

Criticism on IMF and the World BankCriticism of the World Bank and the IMF encompasses a whole range of issues but they generally centre around concern about the approaches adopted by the World Bank and the IMF in formulating their policies. This includes the social and economic impact these policies have on the population of countries who avail themselves of financial assistance from these two institutions.

1. ConditionalitiesOn giving loans to countries, the IMF makes the loan conditional on the implementation of certain economic policies. These policies tend to involve:

o Reducing government borrowing - Higher taxes and lower spendingo Higher interest rates to stabilize the currency. Allow failing firms to go

bankrupt.o Structural adjustment. Privatization, deregulation, reducing corruption and

bureaucracy.

Critics of the World Bank and the IMF are concerned about the conditionalities imposed on borrower countries. The World Bank and the IMF often attach loan conditionalities based on what is termed the 'Washington Consensus', focusing on liberalisation—of trade, investment and the financial sector—, deregulation and privatisation of nationalised industries. Often the conditionalities are attached without due regard for the borrower countries' individual circumstances and the prescriptive recommendations by the World Bank and IMF fail to resolve the economic problems within the countries.

It is claimed that retard social stability and hence inhibit the stated goals of the IMF, while Structural Adjustment Programs lead to an increase in poverty in recipient countries.The main problem is that these policies of structural adjustment and macro economic intervention make the situation worse; we’ll take these two cases for an example to support this point:

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Case I: (Asian Crisis), in the Asian crisis of 1997, many countries such as Indonesia, Malaysia and Thailand were required by IMF to pursue tight monetary policy (higher interest rates) and tight fiscal policy to reduce the budget deficit and strengthen exchange rates. However, these policies caused a minor slowdown to turn into a serious recession with mass unemployment.

A Case II (Argentina): In 2001, Argentina was forced into a similar policy of fiscal restraint. This led to a decline in investment in public services which arguably damaged the economy

Argentina, which had been considered by the IMF to be a model country in its compliance to policy proposals by the Bretton Woods institutions, experienced a catastrophic economic crisis back in year 2001, which some believe to have been caused by IMF-induced budget restrictions — which undercut the government's ability to sustain national infrastructure even in crucial areas such as health, education, and security — and privatization of strategically vital national resources. Others attribute the crisis to Argentina's mis-designed fiscal federalism, which caused sub-national spending to increase rapidly. The crisis added to widespread hatred of this institution in Argentina and other South American countries, with many blaming the IMF for the region's economic problems. The current (as of early 2006)trend towards moderate left-wing governments in the region and a growing concern with the development of a regional economic policy largely independent of big business pressures has been ascribed to this crisis.

2. Impact on Public HealthThere had been several occasions on which the World Bank and IMF have been held responsible for negligence regarding public health thus causing hundreds to die, mentioned below are just two of those:

Cambridge and Yale’s research (IMF and tuberculosis)In 2008, a study by analysts from Cambridge and Yale universities published on the open-access Public Library of Science concluded that strict conditions on the international loans by the IMF resulted in thousands of deaths in Eastern Europe by tuberculosis as public health care had to be weakened. In the 21 countries which the IMF had given loans, tuberculosis deaths rose by 16.6 %

World Bank’s AIDS ControversyThe World Bank is a major source of funding for combating AIDS in poor countries. In the past, it has committed about US$2 billion through grants, loans and credits for programs to fight HIV/AIDS. Its critics, however, claim these financial expenditures to be insufficient. In the 2005 Massey Lecture, entitled "Race Against Time", Stephen Lewis argued that the structural adjustment policies of the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund have aggravated and aided the spread of the AIDS pandemic by limiting the funding allowed to health and education sectors.

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3. DevaluationsThe IMF has also been criticized for allowing inflationary devaluations. Currency devaluation is recommended by the IMF to the governments of poor nations. E.gAs a part of conditions (for the last loan by IMF, Nov 2008) The Pakistani currency was devalued after slight changes in the discount rate and exchange rate decreased officially by 6-7% .

4. Criticism from free market advocatesTypically the IMF and its supporters advocate a monetarist approach. As such, adherents of supply-side economics generally find themselves in open disagreement with the IMF. The IMF frequently advocates currency devaluation, criticized by proponents of supply-side economics as inflationary. Secondly they link higher taxes under "austerity programmes"* with economic contraction. (*austerity is when a national government reduces its spending in order to pay back creditors. Austerity is usually required when a government's fiscal deficit spending is felt to be unsustainable.)

Currency devaluation is recommended by the IMF to the governments of poor nations with struggling economies. Some economists claim these IMF policies are destructive to economic prosperity.

Complaints are also directed toward International Monetary Fund gold reserve being undervalued. At its inception in 1945, the IMF pegged gold at US$35 per Troy ounce of gold. In 1973 the Nixon administration lifted the fixed asset value of gold in favor of a world market price. Hence the fixed exchange rates of currencies tied to gold were switched to a floating rate, also based on market price and exchange. This largely came about because Petrodollars outside the United States were more than could be backed by the gold at Fort Knox under the fixed exchange rate system. The fixed rate system only served to limit the amount of assistance the organisation could use to help debt-ridden countries. Current IMF rules prohibit members from linking their currencies to gold.

5. IMF/World Bank support of military dictatorships The role of the Bretton Woods institutions has been controversial since the late Cold War period, as the IMF policy makers supported military dictatorships friendly to American and European corporations. Critics also claim that the IMF is generally apathetic or hostile to their views of democracy, human rights, and labor rights. The controversy has helped spark the anti-globalization movement. Arguments in favor of the IMF say that economic stability is a precursor to democracy; however, critics highlight various examples in which democratized countries fell after receiving IMF loans.

Case I (Brazil) : In the 1960s, the IMF and the World Bank supported the government of Brazil’s military dictator Castello Branco with tens of millions of dollars of loans and credit that were denied to previous democratically-elected governments.

They support military dictators just for their own interests and to make their policies imposed on such countries.

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Case II (Pakistan) :For instance, In Pakistan, the IMF used a military government to impose the General Sales Tax (GST), a national sales tax on most consumer items. At the same time, they pressured the government to eliminate the Wealth Tax. The most ironic twist in IMF tax policy is that the IMF itself is exempt from all taxes, along with its sister institutions, the World Bank and the Inter-American Development Bank, in spite of the fact that the trio of institutions own $1.4 billion worth of property in Washington DC. “Evidently, the IMF exempts itself from the requirement of paying taxes to ensure adequate governmental revenues,”

Furthermore, illegitimate debts made to dictatorial governments have further worsened the debt crisis. As a responsible organization, IMF should evaluate the creditworthiness and legitimacy of the receivers before making any loan arrangements. In the case of illegitimate debt, the problem is not necessarily with borrowers, but with lenders.

6. IMF & WB : secretive institutions with no accountability

These agencies are not accountable to anyone but top financial officials of the wealthiest nations, they make decisions in closed meetings, and they fail to produce the desired results.The IMF is funded with taxpayer money, yet it operates behind a veil of secrecy. In case of designing a loan package for a country the members of affected communities do not participate in designing loan packages.

The IMF works with a select group of central bankers and finance ministry staff to decide polices without input from other government agencies such as health, education and environment departments. Furthermore, the IMF has resisted attempts to open up to public scrutiny and independent evaluation. The IMF has made elites from the Global South more accountable to First World elites than their own people.

7. Democracy is being torn apart by a financial oligarchy (Might is right)While the WB represents 185 countries, it is run by a small number of economically powerful countriesThe developed nations who act as lenders are bestowed with enormous power that can easily overturn the proposals of weaker countries.

Past Manging DirectorsHistorically the IMF's managing director has been European and the president of the World Bank has been from the United States. However, this standard is increasingly being questioned and competition for these two posts may soon open up to include other qualified candidates from any part of the world.

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Undemocratic SystemUnlike a democratic system in which each member country would have an equal vote, rich countries dominate decision-making in the IMF because voting power is determined by the amount of money that each country pays into the IMF's quota system. It's a system of one dollar, one vote. The U.S. is the largest shareholder with a quota of 17 percent. Germany, Japan, France, Great Britain, and the US combined control about 38 percent. The disproportionate amount of power held by wealthy countries means that the interests of bankers, investors and corporations from industrialized countries are put above the needs of the world's poor majority.

AmercanizationMany critics and economists consider IMF & World Bank: an instrument for the promotion of US or Western interests in certain regions of the world

US has a veto on major constitutional decisions with just over 16% of the shares in the bank. The U.S. is the largest shareholder with a quota. The headquarters of both these IFIs is in Washington D.C., (US capital), too. Further more the President of the World Bank is has always been a US national.

In short, the IMF mainly serves wealthy countries and Wall Street

8. Violation of Islamic PrinciplesThe case against IMF from the Islamic perspective is based on the discussion of morality and human well being. In the Islamic economic system, Income distribution is regarded as a vital element in realizing economic goals. This is achieved by elimination of income inequalities to a level that every individual enjoys a fair share in the economy. In the broader perspective, equality of economic opportunity is essential to elevate poverty and social distress . The economic policy of Islam has also been explained in the Quran in the most unequivocal terms

“so that this (wealth) may not circulate solely among the rich from among you "(Al-Quran. 59: 7).

Therefore, the economic system should ensure to redress social injustice and guarantee equality of economic condition. In contrast, IMF policy prescription has disregarded the above mentioned Islamic norms and principles rather nurturing the wealthy. As a result, income disparity in developing countries has widened and created a social distress in the civil society. IMF adjustment programs have limited the expansion of agriculture sector where majority of the low income groups depend as the main source of income.IMF has disregarded all these Islamic Norms by only nurturing the rich.Moreover, reduction in government social spending in health and education means poor no longer can afford these services. Liberalists backed by IMF maintain that poverty as unfortunate or even unfair but not unjust, even if people die of hunger.

9. IMF Policies hurt the environmentIMF loans and bailout packages are paving the way for natural resource exploitation on a staggering scale. The IMF does not consider the environmental impacts of lending

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policies, and environmental ministries and groups are not included in policy making. The focus on export growth to earn hard currency to pay back loans has led to an unsustainable liquidation of natural resources. For example, the Ivory Coast's increased reliance on cocoa exports has led to a loss of two-thirds of the country's forests.

10.The IMF bails out rich bankers, creating a moral hazard and greater instability in the global economyThe IMF routinely pushes countries to deregulate financial systems. The removal of regulations that might limit speculation has greatly increased capital investment in developing country financial markets. More than $1.5 trillion crosses borders every day. Most of this capital is invested short-term, putting countries at the whim of financial speculators. The Mexican 1995 peso crisis was partly a result of these IMF policies. When the bubble popped, the IMF and US government stepped in to prop up interest and exchange rates, using taxpayer money to bail out Wall Street bankers. Such bailouts encourage investors to continue making risky, speculative bets, thereby increasing the instability

11. Other ControversiesThese two IFI are also blamed (rightly) for several other problems all over the world like:

Human rights and Labor rights being violatedWomen not being given their full rights

Some Ironic facts about the IFIs: IMF itself is exempt from all taxes, along with its sister institutions, the World

Bank and the Inter-American Development Bank, in spite of the fact that the trio of institutions own $1.4 billion worth of property in Washington DC.

IMF’s Dominique Strauss Kahn is no stranger to controversies about his public as well as personal life either. He is a person whose character is full of controversial realities.

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Criticism by some Famous PersonalitiesHere are some critical review about IMF and the World Bank by so famous economists and analysts:

“They [WB] focused on growth-based development and thus invest in energy sectors, setting up ports and infrastructure, instead of this they must focus on poor.”~PROF MUHAMMAD YUNUS~ [Nobel laureate, Bangladeshi banker and economist, founder of Grameen Bank] “…the IMF is not serving a useful role in low-income countries, and that low-income national governments need more policy space and less IMF interventions.”~JACK JONES ZULU~ [Southern African Regional Poverty Network]“American diplomats wanted to lock foreign countries into further dependency on paper dollars.”~MICHAEL HUDSON~ [a Wall Street analyst, economist and Historian]

Why do countries sign agreements with the IFI’s if the consequences are ultimately negative? After so many critical opinions and controversies surrounding these two sister, Bretton Woods IFIs. A curious thought arises in most people’s minds: ‘Why do countries still turn to IMF for help?’ So we tried to find out the reason for that and here’s what we came across these two main points:

Lender of last resortMost countries that accept the loans do so because they have no other way of avoiding total financial collapse (i.e. when other friendly countries had refused the help too)External PressuresAnd there often are international pressures on such countries (in need) to get “Aids” from the IMF and World Bank

IMF & the 3 rd World As the above mentioned critical points about the IFIs suggest, the IMF and the World Bank are the major reason for which the developing nations are suffering the way they are.They give loans with so difficult conditions that most of the times the 3rd world countries (Pakistan not being an exeption)remain trapped in the loans for ever. In return the rich countries exploit the poor ones by asking for a free access to their natural resources, and constantly imposing their policies that not only affect the economy of the debtor (developing) country but also their political, social, health, environmental and other affairs as well .

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Here are some articles (/ selective extracts from articles) concerning the cruel attitude of IMF and WB concerning the poor countries.

The IMF and the World Bank: protectors of capitalismBy Daniel Vila, People’s Weekly World, 17 January 1998

Imagine applying for a loan at a bank and being told that in order to receive the money you must agree to being hit in the face by Mike Tyson, in the stomach with a bat swung by Jose Canseco and kicked in the rear by a soccer player every morning for the rest of your life. Paying the money back is not as difficult as surviving the humiliating conditions of the loan.

The IMF is hurting poor countriesMark Weisbrot guardian.co.uk, Wednesday 13 May 2009 22.00 BSTThe IMF's conditions on financial aid to poor countries are unnecessary. It can afford to be more generous

The IMF: Raping the World, One Poor Nation at a Time Saturday April 25, 2009 by Dana Gabriel

There exists a double standard which allows richer countries to use fiscal expansion in the face of recession while poorer nations are forced into stricter economic restraints. Under the guise of helping economic distraught countries, the IMF is really bailing out foreign investors and multinational corporations. They have further fueled chaos and instability in some of the poorest regions in the world.

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has been described as one of the enforcers of globalization. Nations who receive IMF assistance are often forced to surrender more sovereignty and further open up their borders to international banks and multinational corporations. Much of their wealth is then sucked dry by foreign predators with its resources and population essentially becoming the collateral for such financial aid. As a result of the global economic crisis, many more nations are having to turn to the IMF for help. At the recent G-20 Summit in London, the IMF’s role was expanded and its powers enhanced. There was little mention of its failed policies and its less then stellar record of effectively promoting development and democracy around the world. While some talk of reform, the IMF continues to rape the world, one poor nation at a time. Some IMF conditions that countries have been forced to comply with can only be described as harsh and undemocratic. Often the devaluation of a nation’s currency has been a precondition for IMF assistance. In order to qualify for IMF loans, some nations have also been forced to lower tariffs, restrict governmental subsidies and spending, balance budgets, as well as sell-off state institutions to foreign interests. In some cases, the IMF has even prohibited wage increases as some countries have tried to do so, in order to compensate for a sharp rise in food prices and other commodities. Environmental and labor rights have also taken a hit as a result of IMF policies. Under the guise of helping economic distraught countries, the IMF is really bailing out foreign investors and multinational corporations. They have further fueled chaos and instability in some of the poorest regions in the world.

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Response to Criticism Here is what IMF and it’s supporter say in response to all the critics:

1. Crisis always leads to some Difficulties.Because the IMF deal with economic crisis, whatever policy they offer, there is likely to be difficulties. It is not possible to deal with a balance of payments without some painful readjustment.

2. IMF has had Some Successes.The Failures of the IMF tend to be widely publicized. But, its successes less so. Also criticism tends to focus on short term problems and ignores longer term view

3. ConfidenceThe fact there is a lender of last resort provides an important confidence boost for investors. This is important during current financial turmoil

4. Countries are not obliged to take an IMF loanIt is countries who approach the IMF for a loan. The fact so many take loans suggests there must be at least some benefits of the IMF.

5. IMF Easy target.Sometimes countries may want to undertake painful short term adjustment but there is a lack of political will. An IMF intervention enables the government to secure a loan and then pass the blame on to the IMF for the difficulties. What we Think: Though there might be some (next to negligible) truth about these counter arguments. But we can surely see that the stated objectives are totally contradicting what these organizations really do.

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SuggestionsIMF and World Bank should use their power in the positive sense, to help the third world not to create problems for them. The government of developing countries who is successful in getting funds from the IFIs, they must use it in efficiently and sincerely. The IMF should be accountable to all of its members (even if they have a 0.001% share)

There is so much criticism about IFIs and we think most of the critics are true. The IMF requires deep, comprehensive, structural reforms. it should start by deciding whether it wants to be a main player in the international financial architecture, or whether it wishes to remain only a trusted advisor. If it wants to be a key player, it must greatly increase its independence, boost its financial capacity and adopt an automatic insurance facility. Otherwise its influence will be dependent on the political skills of its managing directors. As regards its function as facilitator in the multilateral surveillance process, it will be critical to craft political agreement, which will solve thorny issues. Moreover unless emerging markets are provided with the viable insurance facility, it will be very difficult to induce the needed changes in the incentive structure that lead these countries to accumulate massive foreign reserves. Global imbalances and national financial crises that can spill over into global markets are best addressed by a global institution like IFIs. The IMF can work to try to insure that financial and current account imbalances are addressed rather than ignored, and that they are addressed by policies that are not destructive of global prosperity. The World Bank country offices should be autonomous in designing policies and implementation strategies on the basis of a certain nation’s needs. We can’t apply the same policy in all countries. The country offices should identify problems of a certain country and then formulate policies to solve those. Instead of focusing on growth-based development, it should pay attention on involvement of the poor in their efforts for sustainable development. As Prof. Muhammad Yunus founder of Grameen bank said “I told them you have forgot the people, who should be the centre of any development program. Yes, infrastructure can also help in eradicating poverty. But it will be successful only when the poor have ownership in that infrastructure, The World Bank should lend at least 5 percent of its total lending money for micro credit programs.”

ConclusionIn short, the world can turn into a much better place to live in, for everyone. If only the IMF and World Bank use their enormous authority and the immensely great economic power in a healthier way.

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Documents

International Financial Institutions