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
14 October 2015
By Jim Cust and David Mihalyi Cust is Director of Research and Data at the Natural Resource Governance Institute and Mihalyi is an NRGI Economic Analyst. The following post (minus graphics) first appeared Oct. 9 in the NRGI blog. Today, the International Monetary Fund released its model for evaluating and designing oil and mining […]
15 September 2013
Brazil has yet to release the 2013 annual “Article IV” report on its economy by the International Monetary Fund. “The authorities need more time to consider the publication of the report,” according to a line in the Aug. 30 IMF press release that summarized the report. FreedomInfo.org was told that the disclosure of the report […]
22 July 2013
The International Monetary Fund July 22 announced modest alterations to its transparency policy. The revised policy continues to give member governments the ability to block the release of IMF assessments of their economies, but increases the pressure for disclosure. Currently, when countries seek to borrow exceptional amounts, the IMF Managing Director can condition a favorable recommendation on […]
22 April 2013
The International Monetary Fund is less transparent than other International Financial Institutions, according to civil society organizations that responded to the Fund’s call for comments. The Fund is undergoing a review of its 2009 transparency policy and expects for the Board to consider the subject in May. The draft of any proposed changes will not […]
29 March 2013
The International Monetary Fund “fails to establish a proper system of openness,” according to a submission made by a nongovernmental organization. The comment quoted above, by the Centre for Law and Democracy, was submitted in response to an IMF call for comment about its disclosure policy. The consultation process itself has garnered criticisms from transparency […]
25 February 2013
The International Monetary Fund has commenced a review of its 2009 transparency policy. The IMF on Feb. 21 posted a call for comments along with eleven specific questions. The deadline is March 29. A conference call with representatives of civil society groups is being planned. The most recent revision of the IMF transparency policy went into effect […]
30 July 2012
The Vienna-based South East Europe Media Organization (SEEMO), an affiliate of the international Press Institute (IPI), on July 17 expressed concern that the top International Monetary Fund representative in Greece has said he would deny future information to a reporter who wrote about a confidential IMF report. An IMF spokesman in Washington acknowledged to FreedomInfo.org […]
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 of Governors saying “progress has been slow on improving critical aspects of IMF governance in […]
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. Article IV reviews are usually conducted every year and the comprehensive staff reports summarize the economic conditions […]
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 veto power. Although the new policy is not expected to allow significantly greater access to […]
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 release of more than 10 percent of some of the most important documents about countries. […]
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 and effectiveness of IMF surveillance. Since the crisis has taught us that no nation is […]
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 spring, and the staff may or may not make reform proposals, according to Silvia Zucchini, […]
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, who works for the Information Center & Advisory Services in Health (Centro de Informacion y […]
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 tanks, academics and other stakeholders." Questionnaires Questionnaire for Civil Society Organizations Questionnaire for Financial Markets […]
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” will be judged against a set of exemptions. This approach has long been advocated by […]
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 (IEO) makes a variety of suggestions for greater transparency by the Executive Board, along with […]
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 the report on 2007 activities merited a B+, up from last year’s rating of B-, […]
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 learned that at least one country, Russia, has recommended that the staff paper be released. […]
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 20 countries still oppose issuance of the annual or biannual report assessing their economic policies, […]
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 the IMF’s External Relations Department that the next review of the Fund’s Transparency Policy, originally […]
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 countries that legally veto their disclosure. This core of resistance includes some larger countries, including […]
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 found that more than one-third of the published reports “incorporate substantive changes” as a result […]
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 of the countries whose Article IV and/or Use of Fund Resources reports were reviewed by […]
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 is cautioned against doing anything with legislators that would subvert the bargaining authority of government […]
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 new formulation very slightly ratchets up the existing policy of voluntary disclosure while still permitting […]
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 a staff report, will be issued soon. “It should be concluded this week, there are […]
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 27 Board meeting, held to review its disclosure policy. One topic on the table, for […]
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 is unlikely that the IFIs and their borrower governments will readily acquiesce to the publication […]
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 the confidentiality of IMF documents. That requirement of confidentiality is transferred to national officials if […]
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 IMF staff is continuing to study its disclosure policies. The Board, in a Sept. 27, […]
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: freeinfo@gwu.edu or
1-(703) 276-7748
