The Diplomat
The Council of Ministers has authorised a 50 percent increase in Spain’s quota to the International Monetary Fund (IMF), which will exceed 14.3 billion Special Drawing Rights.
Specifically, last Tuesday, the government approved and sent to the Spanish Parliament, by urgent procedure, the agreement authorising the acceptance of the 16th General Review of Quotas proposed by the Board of Governors of the International Monetary Fund.
The review agreement provides for a 50 percent increase in quotas, among other measures. Thus, in application of this agreement, Spain’s quota in the IMF will increase from 9,535.5 million Special Drawing Rights to 14,303.3 million SDRs. The relative weight of Spain’s quota will remain very close to the two percent, which was obtained in the XIV Review of Quotas in 2010.
The SDR is a unit of account created by the IMF on the basis of four national currencies (dollar, yen, pound sterling, euro and yuan) and functions as the reserve currency of the Fund’s member states.
The International Monetary Fund is the institution responsible for ensuring the stability of the international monetary system. Relations between Spain and the IMF date back to 1958, when Spain joined the Fund. Since then, as the government recalled, Spain has maintained a close relationship with the organisation, participating actively in its meetings, negotiations and decisions.