Thursday, April 2, 2015

Special Drawing Rights (SDR) and Reverse Tranche Position (RTP) of IMF

(Question #2) IMF members often need to buy SDRs to discharge obligations to the IMF, or they may wish to sell SDRs in order to adjust the composition of their reserves. The IMF may act as an intermediary between members and prescribed holders to ensure that SDRs can be exchanged for freely usable currencies""... Is the SDR is a kind of security paper ? If India holding this SDR means, then it can able to fill its forex reserves with dollar by giving this SDR to any other nation which has dollar reserve?

Features of SDR:

·         The SDR is neither a currency, nor a claim on the IMF.

·      Rather, it is a potential claim on the freely usable currencies of IMF members. Holders of SDRs can obtain these currencies in exchange for their SDRs in two ways
o   First, through the arrangement of voluntary exchanges between members; and
o   Second, by the IMF designating members with strong external positions to purchase SDRs from members with weak external positions.

·         In addition to its role as a supplementary reserve asset, the SDR serves as the unit of account of the IMF and some other international organizations.


Origin and background of SDR:

·         Origin of SDR was created by the IMF in 1969 to support the Bretton Woods fixed exchange rate system.

·         Contemporary role of SDR  came to prominence in 2009 SDR allocations totaling SDR 182.6 billion have played a critical role in providing liquidity to the global economic system and supplementing member countries’ official reserves amid the global financial crisis


Basket of SDR

·         SDR basket consists of the euro, Japanese yen, pound sterling, and U.S. dollar.

·         Basket composition is reviewed every five years by the Executive Board.

·         In the most recent review (in November 2010), the weights of the currencies in the SDR basket were revised based on the value of the exports of goods and services and the amount of reserves denominated in the respective currencies that were held by other members of the IMF.

·          In October 2011, the IMF Executive Board held the view that the current criteria for SDR basket selection remained appropriate. Next review will take place by 2015


SDR interest rate

·         The interest paid to members on their SDR holdings and charged on their SDR allocation, and the interest paid to members on a portion of their quota subscriptions.

·         SDR interest rate is determined weekly.


Allocation of SDRs

·         General allocations of SDRs is based on a long-term global need to supplement existing reserve assets. General SDR allocations have been made only three times- to help mitigate the effects of the financial crisis, a third general SDR allocation of SDR 161.2 billion was made on August 28, 2009

·         SDRs are given to member countries by the IMF. Using SDRs they can buy other currencies. They are issued to member countries in proportion to their share in IMF. If they use it they have to pay interest. Members not using SDRs will get interest. For a country SDRs are as good as forex reserves.
·         
General allocations of SDRs have to be based on a long-term global need to supplement existing reserve assets. Decisions on general allocations are made for successive basic periods of up to five years, although general SDR allocations have been made only three times. The first allocation was for a total amount of SDR 9.3 billion, distributed in 1970-72, and the second allocated SDR 12.1 billion, distributed in 1979-81. These two allocations resulted in cumulative SDR allocations of SDR 21.4 billion. To help mitigate the effects of the financial crisis, a third general SDR allocation of SDR 161.2 billion was made on August 28, 2009.

·         Separately, the Fourth Amendment to the Articles of Agreement became effective August 10, 2009 and provided for a special one-time allocation of SDR 21.5 billion. The purpose of the Fourth Amendment was to enable all members of the IMF to participate in the SDR system on an equitable basis and rectify the fact that countries that joined the IMF after 1981—more than one fifth of the current IMF membership—never received an SDR allocation until 2009. The 2009 general and special SDR allocations together raised total cumulative SDR allocations to SDR 204 billion.


(Question #3) Reserve Tranche Position (RTP) of any country can be defined as the difference between Member's quota and IMF's holding of its currency."". How this is happening in India ?

Reserve Tranche Position (RTP) of any country can be defined as the difference between Member's quota and IMF's holding of its currency. It is accounted among a country's foreign exchange reserve. Reserve Bank of India (RBI) gives update on the situation of current Reserve Tranche Position (RTP) in its weekly statistical supplement. its value keeps on fluctuating due to frequent changes in world major currencies prizes.

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