WASHINGTON: The International Monetary Fund’s executive board approved the lender’s administrative and capital budgets for the financial year 2022.
The total administrative budget for the latest financial year, which began on May 1, has been set at $1.21 billion, while the capital budget for the year will be $79 million, according to a statement.
The budget “is set in the context of a global economic outlook that is marked by high uncertainty and the likelihood of uneven recovery, with many countries facing daunting crisis legacies,” the IMF said. “The budget provides for continued fund support for its membership with the immediate crisis response and to navigate a safe exit from the crisis.”
The lender also said many countries may not return to the pre-Covid path of economic activity for several years, and those without the means to mitigate the impact of the crisis will be hardest hit.
The capital budget provides financing for building facilities and information technology capital projects including modernising digital platforms and tools, according to the lender.
“Financial support is expected to rise and programmes to become more complicated, as many emergency financing operations are followed with upper credit tranche conditionality programmes, in many cases characterized by complex debt issues,” it said.
As of early March, 12 UCT arrangements have been approved in the year since the pandemic hit. Going forward, another 38 members have expressed interest in new UCT programmes.
Fifteen member countries are also seeking emergency financing that will come up for board approval over the next year.
The executive board of the IMF also took note of indicative budgets for 2023 and 2024. The administrative budget for the financial year 2023 is expected to be $1.24bn and for 2024 it will be $1.26bn.
The capital budgets for 2023 and 2024 will be $92.4m and $87.9m respectively, the IMF said.
