Switzerland to support the IMF up to 15 billion francs

news-single-imgcaption" style="width:240px">New borrowing agreements add to IMF regular financial resources, drawn from member countries’ quotas (Keystone)

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The Federal Council adopted its message on the reform of borrowing from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) on Wednesday. Switzerland increases its participation to 15 billion francs.

IMF members voted in 2019 to double the resources of the new loan agreements. The latter must go from 250 to 500 billion francs.

In the process, Switzerland must increase its participation. This is provided by the Swiss National Bank (SNB) in the form of a line of credit. The SNB’s loans to the IMF are provided without a guarantee from the Confederation.

The new borrowing agreements add to the IMF’s regular financial resources, which come from member countries’ quotas. They constitute a financial safety net in the event of crises threatening the international monetary and financial system.

These instruments can only be used if the regular financial resources of the IMF are insufficient. Created in 1998 in the wake of the Asian crisis, they are regularly extended. Forty contracting countries or their central banks make foreign currency available to the IMF. (Awp)

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