2024-01-04-IMF-List_of_IMF_Member_Countries_with_Delays_in_Completion_of_Article_IV_Consultations_or_Mandatory_Financial_Stability_Assessments_Over_18_Months_4页_292kb

IMF Member Countries with Delays in Article IV Consultations or Financial Stability Assessments

Core Content

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has released a report on December 19, 2023, detailing member countries that have experienced delays in completing Article IV consultations or mandatory financial stability assessments exceeding 18 months. This report is part of the IMF's regular policy analysis and reform exploration activities.

Key Information

• Publication Date: December 19, 2023
• List Update Date: December 15, 2023
• Next Publication Date: January 2, 2024 or later
• Purpose: To provide transparency on the status of Article IV consultations and highlight countries with significant delays.
• Transparency Policy: The IMF allows for the deletion of market-sensitive information and the avoidance of premature disclosure of policy intentions in published reports.

Main Points

Delays in Article IV Consultations

The following countries have experienced delays in their Article IV consultations exceeding 18 months as of December 15, 2023:

Notes on Delays

• Delay Calculation: The delay is measured from the stipulated date for the next consultation, excluding a three-month grace period where applicable. The calculation also accounts for the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on consultation cycles.
• Venezuela: The IMF's dealings with Venezuela remain paused due to a lack of clarity on which regime is recognized as the government of Venezuela by the international community.
• Russia: The 2021 Article IV consultation was held in December 2021, but the staff report was not issued to the Board due to war-related developments that made the economic analysis obsolete.
• Other Countries: Some countries, such as Zambia and Ukraine, were removed from the list compared to the June 2023 version.

Reasons for Delays

The IMF categorizes the reasons for delays into the following groups:

• Program-related issues: Delays to combine consultations with requests for Fund resources or ongoing program reviews.
• Political/security situation: Delays due to unstable political or security environments.
• Government change: Delays caused by upcoming or recent elections, or changes in government.
• Staffing constraints: Delays due to internal staff limitations.
• Authorities' request: Delays at the request of the member country authorities, such as scheduling conflicts.
• No agreement on mission dates/modalities: Delays due to lack of agreement on the consultation mission's schedule or modalities.
• Miscellaneous: Includes other reasons not covered by the above categories.

Conclusion

This report highlights the challenges faced by certain IMF member countries in completing Article IV consultations or financial stability assessments on time. It underscores the importance of addressing these delays to maintain transparency and effective policy coordination. The IMF continues to monitor and update this list regularly.