IMF Signs €15 Billion Borrowing Agreement with Deutsche Bundesbank

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the Deutsche Bundesbank have signed an agreement to provide the Fund with up to the equivalent of €15 billion (about US$22 billion). The agreement is part of a commitment made by the European Union in March 2009 to contribute up to €75 billion (then equal to about US$100 billion) to support the IMF’s lending capacity (see Press Release No. 09/82). The European Union has since committed an additional €50 million (about US$74 billion) to the Fund’s expanded New Arrangements to Borrow (see Press Release No. 09/298).

The signing of the agreement with the Deutsche Bundesbank means the Fund can now add these resources to those already available through borrowing agreements signed with other members. These agreements contribute toward an increase in Fund resources that was requested in April 2009 by G-20 leaders and the International Monetary and Financial Committee in order to provide timely and effective balance of payments assistance to its members in the current crisis.