IMF policy panel endorses $650-bn rise in resources

Washington: The International Monetary Fund has authorised a $650 billion expansion of the 190-nation lending institution's resources with the aim of providing more support for vulnerable countries as they battle the coronavirus pandemic. IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva on Thursday said the $ 650 billion increase in reserves is the largest in IMF history.

The move will provide badly needed reserves for poor countries struggling with deep recessions caused by the pandemic and the need to obtain and administer millions of doses of vaccines, she said. By comparison, to combat the global recession that followed the 2008 financial crisis, the IMF agreed to an increase of $250 billion in the IMF's reserves of what are known at the agency as Special Drawing Rights.

US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen told the IMF panel that the SDR increase would provide a "much-needed boost to global reserves." She said it would be important for rich countries who do not need the increase in resources to supply that extra support to poorer nations.