Members of the International Monetary and Finance Committee (IMFC) are meeting in Washington, DC Thursday (October 14).

The meeting is held in the IMF headquarters during the Annual Meetings of the Fund and World Bank.

Swedish Finance Minister Magdalena Andersson chairs the IMFC, while the IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva opened the meeting with an assessment of the Fund’s operations and how the IMFC can best approach the economic impact of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

The IMFC advises and reports to the IMF Board of Governors on the supervision and management of the international monetary and financial system, including on responses to unfolding events that may disrupt the system. It also considers proposals by the Executive Board to amend the Articles of Agreement and advises on any other matters that may be referred to it by the Board of Governors. Although the IMFC has no formal decision-making powers, in practice, it has become a key instrument for providing strategic direction to the work and policies of the Fund.

The IMFC usually meets twice a year, at the Bank-Fund Annual and Spring Meetings . For each meeting, the Managing Director prepares a draft agenda that is discussed by the Executive Board, approved by the IMFC Chair, and formally adopted by the IMFC at the meeting. At the end of the meetings, the Committee issues a communiqué summarizing its views. These communiqués provide guidance for the IMF’s work program during the half year leading up to the next Spring or Annual Meetings.

The size and the composition of the IMFC mirrors that of the Executive Board. The IMFC has 24 members who are central bank governors, ministers, or others of comparable rank and who are usually drawn from the governors of the Fund’s now 190 member countries, with the newest member, Andorra joining the IMF in October 2020. A number of international institutions, including the World Bank, participate as observers in the IMFC’s meetings.

The full communique from the IMFC will be posted on IMF.org