International Monetary Fund

In Washington, D.C., the International Monetary Fund (IMF) is an international financial institution composed of 190 countries that "works to foster global monetary cooperation, secure financial stability, facilitate international trade, promote high employment and sustainable economic growth, and reduce poverty around the world." The IMF was established in 1945 and is headquartered in Washington, DC. Established in 1944 and launched on December 27, 1945, at the Bretton Woods Conference in New York City on the ideas of Harry Dexter White and John Maynard Keynes, it came into existence in 1945 with 29 member countries and the goal of reconstructing the international monetary system as its primary objective. With the handling of balance of payments challenges and international financial crises becoming more important, it has assumed a major position. Contributing nations make contributions to a pool of cash via the use of quotas, and countries having balance of payments difficulties may borrow money from this pool. At the end of 2016, the fund has XDR 477 billion (about US$667 billion in assets).

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) aims to strengthen the economies of its member nations via the fund and other operations such as the collection and analysis of statistics and data, the monitoring of its members' economies, and the demand for specific policy measures. The organization's objectives, as stated in its Articles of Agreement, are to promote international monetary cooperation, international trade, high employment, exchange rate stability, sustainable economic growth, and the provision of resources to member countries that are experiencing financial difficulties. The organisation was founded in 1971. Quotes and loans are the two primary sources of income for the International Monetary Fund (IMF). The majority of IMF revenues come from quotas, which are pools of cash from member countries. The level of a member's quota is determined by the country's economic and financial significance across the globe. Nation's quotas increase in proportion to its economic importance. The IMF's resources, which are represented by special drawing rights, are boosted annually by increasing the quotas.

Currently serving as the International Monetary Fund's managing director (MD) and chairwoman is Bulgarian economist Kristalina Georgieva, who has been in the position since January 1, 2019. With effect from October 1, 2018, Gita Gopinath has been appointed as the International Monetary Fund's Chief Economist. Gopinath worked as an economic consultant to the Chief Minister of Kerala, India, prior to her employment as an IMF staff member.