IMF Signs SDR 300 Million Borrowing Agreement with the Norwegian Ministry of Finance

Microfinance Focus, July 18, 2010: The International Monetary Fund (IMF), as Trustee of the Poverty Reduction and Growth Trust (PRGT), has recently signed a borrowing agreement with the Norwegian Ministry of Finance representing the Kingdom of Norway. Through the agreement Norway will provide the PRGT with up to SDR 300 million (about US$448.8 million) in new loan resources for low-income countries. The resources will be split between the Standby Credit Facility (SCF) Loan Account of the PRGT and the Rapid Credit Facility (RCF) Loan Account of the PRGT. Up to SDR 150 million (about US$224.4 million) will be allocated to the SCF Loan Account and up to SDR 150 million (about US$224.4 million) to the RCF Loan Account of the PRGT.

This agreement, signed on June 25, 2010, expands the IMF’s capacity to help low-income countries hit hard by the current global crisis, and increases the loan resources available for the recently reformed concessional lending facilities. Following the Executive Board’s approval of these reforms in July 2009, the Managing Director launched a fund-raising campaign seeking SDR 9 billion in new bilateral loan resources and SDR 0.2–0.4 billion in bilateral subsidy contributions.

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