By David Lawder
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The International Monetary Fund said on Thursday it hopes to begin lending from its new Resilience and Sustainability Trust (RST) for vulnerable low and middle-income economies in October at the time of its annual meeting.
IMF spokesman Gerry Rice told a news briefing that funding pledges for the new RST, for which about three quarters of IMF members will be eligible, have now reached about $37 billion. The Fund hopes to reach its initial goal of $45 billion soon, he added.
The IMF conceived of the new trust as a way for wealthier countries to channel their shares of last year’s $650 billion distribution of IMF monetary reserves known as Special Drawing Rights to poorer and vulnerable countries, including middle income countries.
Rice said that unlike most IMF lending programs, the new facility would be able to provide long-term financing with 20-year maturities and a 10.5-year grace period. The facility would require high-quality policy reforms and overall debt sustainability, he added.
(Reporting by David Lawder; Editing by Aurora Ellis)
