From the Executive Board

• Pages: 382

Page 382

General Arrangements to Borrow Renewed

The IMF has renewed the General Arrangements to Borrow (GAB) for a further period of five years from December 26, 1998, to December 25, 2003. The GAB is a long-standing set of bilateral credit arrangements between the IMF and 11 industrial countries, which currently amounts to SDR 17 billion (about $23.3 billion). By strengthening the IMF's ability to support the adjustment efforts of its members and to address their payments difficulties, the GAB are an important element of the IMF's capacity to respond to potential systemic problems.

The GAB have been activated nine times since their establishment in 1962. The most recent activations were in 1977, when the IMF borrowed for lending to the United Kingdom and Italy...