IMF Revises Bailout Rules For Countries With Limited Ability to Repay Debt

Sovereign debtors with questionable ability to repay loans can obtain financing from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) under revised conditions, the IMF said in a press release on Friday.

WASHINGTON (Sputnik) — Under the new regulations, the IMF will provide loans to countries with questionable ability to repay debt if they maintain existing credit based on the terms that would allow them to gradually restore their fiscal conditions.

"Directors agreed that staff’s proposed approach addresses more robustly the rigidities in the exceptional access framework, while ensuring that debt vulnerabilities are addressed in an appropriately calibrated way," the press release stated.

On January 20, the IMF Executive Board approved reforms to the exceptional access lending framework, scrapping a loophole that allowed for large IMF loans when a state’s default would have a spillover effect.

The exceptional access lending framework, meant to safeguard IMF resources, was put into place following the 2001 financial crisis in Argentina. It set out criteria that countries had to meet in order to obtain large loans relative to a member country’s IMF quota.

A member's quota determines the maximum amount of financial resources the country is obliged to provide, its voting power and access to financing.