Requests: Send requests to the External Relations Department.
E-mail: exrpolicycom@imf.org
Phone: 202-623-6639
Fax: 202-623-6149
Procedures: Requests are to be answered promptly under general IMF guidelines, but there are no specific procedures under the transparency policy
29 September 2010
A coalition of groups Sept. 28 urged the International Monetary Fund to make governance reforms, including better disclosure policies.
New Rules for Global Finance, Oxfam International, the Center for Global Development, other civil society organizations and some academics wrote the IMF Board…
29 July 2010
China has permitted disclosure of the so-called Article IV “staff report” prepared by the International Monetary Fund.
Last year, China declined to allow release of the 2009 staff report, This was a change, because China had permitted release of the 2006 report.…
16 March 2010
The International Monetary Fund’s slightly revised disclosure policy enters into effect March 17, with the hope that a few more governments will allow the public release of key Bank documents about their countries, but still with a proviso giving governments…
9 January 2010
After an opaque review process, the International Monetary Fund January 8 announced modest changes to its disclosure policy, but retained the major impediment to disclosure, allowing governments to prevent release of documents pertaining to their countries.
This power prevents the…
12 October 2009
US Treasury Secretary Timothy F. Geithner, speaking October 4 in Istanbul at the International Monetary and Financial Committee (IMFC) meeting, called for more transparency at the International Monetary Fund.
Geithner said, “Moreover, greater transparency is critical to underpin the credibility…
21 September 2009
The International Monetary Fund board will discuss possible changes to the IMF disclosure policy later this fall, but still has no plans to disclose any proposed changes.
Staff review of the IMF Transparency Policy is underway following a consultation this…
30 April 2009
Article IV Reports Source of Tension
Ana Quiros from Nicaragua had a very direct message for the International Monetary Fund.
We would like to see what you are discussing with Nicaragua, and not just in a press note, said Quiros,…
31 March 2009
The International Monetary Fund on March 25 requested public comment on its transparency policy.
The IMF asked for comments by April 30 and offered questionnaires for three different types of potential respondents: "civil society organizations," "financial market participants," and "think…
16 March 2009
The World Bank March 13 announced plans to review its disclosure policy, unveiling an “Approach Paper” that moves in the direction of more transparency.
Significantly, the Bank’s proposal includes a “paradigm shift,” meaning that the “presumption of disclosure”…
24 September 2008
The International Monetary Fund has launched a high-level examination of its own governance, a topic also probed earlier this year by an internal evaluation unit that recommended many reforms, including greater transparency.
The report by the IMF’s Independent Evaluation Office…
16 May 2008
The Canadian government’s annual reporting on its activities at international financial institutions is getting better, according to the authors, and to a Canadian civil society group which recently gave the latest report its best grade ever.
The Halifax Initiative said…
24 March 2008
The major ongoing discussion within the International Monetary Fund about how to revamp its voting structure is nearing completion but without the release of key recommendations by the IMF staff.
While such opacity is typical for the IMF, freedominfo.org has…
15 February 2008
The International Monetary Fund appears to have reached a plateau when it comes to releasing its key document assessing member countries.
Despite its stated intention to make all Article IV reports public, only about four in five is released. About…
18 January 2008
The Global Transparency Initiative has expressed concern about the decision by they International Monetary Fund to postponement review of the IMF Transparency Policy, originally scheduled for 2008.
GTI wrote to IMF Managing Director Dominique Strauss-Kahn Dec. 17 after learning from…
22 September 2006
The major disclosure issue at the International Monetary Fund remains access to its key reports about member countries, the so-called Article IV reports.
Although more of these reports are now released–about 83 percent of them–there are still more than 30…
6 October 2005
The International Monetary Fund has taken steps that may reduce the number of deletions made in the publicly disclosed versions of its key reports about member countries, including the significant Article IV reports.
The moves come after an internal report…
1 July 2004
Slight progress was made during 2006 toward increasing the number of countries willing to disclose the key analytical report on their country prepared by the International Monetary Fund, according to a recent IMF report.
The figures show that 15 percent…
24 February 2004
The International Monetary Fund has asked for public comment on recommendations that the Fund staff increase their interaction with parliamentarians.
While supportive of expanded IMF dialogue with parliamentarians, the recommendations of an internal working group also suggest limitations. The staff…
1 October 2003
The International Monetary Fund executive board has decided not to require the disclosure of a key document, the Article IV staff report.
The board opted instead to say that publication of the Article IV reports is "voluntary by presumed." This…
1 July 2003
The International Monetary Fund Executive Board met June 27 to discuss the Fund’s current transparency policy and possibly increasing the accessibility of IMF documents to the public.
Although no immediate announcement has resulted, Fund officials said a press release, and…
1 July 2003
The International Monetary Fund Executive Board has asked its staff to study whether there are legal impediments to requiring countries to disclose certain documents, according to informed sources.
The research effort is an outgrowth of a debate at a June…
1 June 2003
Optimism that the MDBs will follow through on suggestions for greater openness from the G-8 is not high among transparency activists. An article published recently by the Bretton Woods Project reflecting on the potential disclosure of more documents, observes: "It…
1 May 2003
The International Monetary Fund prohibits representatives of member governments from sharing confidential IMF documents with national legislators, according to a speech presented by a top IMF lawyer.
In essence, the IMF lawyer emphasized that members have an obligation to protect…
1 January 2003
In June 2003, the IMF Executive Board is planning to reconsider whether to force the release of more, maybe all, Article IV reports, the country-specific assessments that guide IMF lending.
The IMF has edged slowly to this point and the…
In this column, Washington, D.C.-based journalist Toby J. McIntosh reports on the latest developments in information disclosure in International Financial and Trade Institutions (IFTI).
Contact: tmcintosh@bna.com or
1-(703) 341-5815
