IMF view of financial year 2001 highlights increasing openness, continuing reforms

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The IMF's recently released Annual Report 2001 spotlights the organization's intensifying efforts to increase its own openness and that of its member countries. The report, which summarizes the IMF's reforms and operational work in financial year 2001 (May 1, 2000-April 30, 2001), also highlights enhanced surveillance efforts-notably in assessing financial sector soundness and promoting internationally recognized standards and codes of good practice- as well as strong steps taken to rationalize and update its lending practices, streamline its conditionality, and broadly refocus its resources on core macroeconomic responsibilities and the improved functioning of financial markets.

In all of its activities during the year, the IMF sought to ensure that globalization worked for the benefit of all its members. It took significant actions to reduce poverty-notably by substantially reducing debt burdens under the joint IMF-World Bank Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) Initiative.

Substantial technical assistance to its member countries supported IMF work on financial crisis prevention and management, capacity building in poor countries, and restoration of macroeconomic stability in postcrisis countries.

Highlights

* Transparency. In addition to making more of its reports and data available to the public, the IMF solicited public input on a number of major initiatives (notably efforts to streamline conditionality) and established the Independent Evaluation Office to provide objective reviews and assessments of its operational work.

* Lending and credit. The IMF's regular and concessional lending increased slightly in FY 2001 following a sharp decline the previous year. Total IMF credit outstanding declined to SDR 48.6 billion from SDR 50.3 billion in FY 2000. A high level of repayments more than offset the increase in lending.

* Surveillance. In conjunction with heightened concerns about financial vulnerability, the IMF devoted greater attention to the health of members' financial sectors, capital account developments, and public and external debt. After a successful pilot project, the IMF and the World Bank launched the Financial Sector Assessment Program and collaborated on an international effort to combat money...