By Geena Paul
WASHINGTON: In the recent past, there is a lot of talk about the International Monetary Fund’s gold holdings because the G20 leaders have allowed the IMF to sell part of its gold reserves to raise funds to fight recession.

So, there is an increased enthusiasm to know how much gold the IMF has and how it will impact the international bullion markets if IMF sells around 400 tonnes of the yellow metal now.

Here are some facts about the IMF’s golden chest. The IMF holds 103.4 million ounces (3,217 metric tonnes) of gold at designated depositories. The IMF’s total gold holdings are valued on its balance sheet at $9.3 billion on the basis of historical cost. As of August 31, 2008, the IMF’s holdings amounted to $86.2 billion (at the market prices then). A portion of these holdings were acquired since the Second Amendment of the IMF’s Articles of Agreement in April 1978, amounting to 12.97 million ounces (403.3 metric tonnes), with a market value of $10.8 billion as of August 31, 2008. This part of the fund’s gold holdings is not subject to restitution to members.

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IMF acquired the majority of its gold holdings prior to the Second Amendment through four main types of transactions. First, it was then prescribed that 25 per cent of initial quota subscriptions and subsequent quota increases were to be paid in gold. This represented the largest source of the IMF’s gold. Second, all payments of charges (i.e., interest on members’ use of IMF credit) were normally made in gold. Third, a member wishing to purchase the currency of another member could acquire it by selling gold to the IMF. The major use of this provision was sales of gold to the IMF by South Africa in 1970-71. And finally, members could use gold to repay the IMF for credit previously extended.

IMF POLICY ON GOLD:

The Second Amendment to the Articles of Agreement in April 1978 eliminated the use of gold as the common denominator of the post-World War II exchange rate system and as the basis of the value of the Special Drawing Right (SDR). It also abolished the official price of gold and brought to an end the obligatory use of gold in transactions between the IMF and its members. It furthermore required that the IMF, when dealing in gold, avoid managing its price or establishing a fixed price.

The Articles of Agreement now limit the use of gold in the IMF’s operations and transactions. The IMF may sell gold outright on the basis of prevailing market prices, and may accept gold in the discharge of a member’s obligations at an agreed price, based on market prices at the time of acceptance. These transactions in gold require an 85 per cent majority of total voting power. The IMF does not have the authority to engage in any other gold transactions — such as loans, leases, swaps, or use of gold as collateral — nor does it have the authority to buy gold.

The Articles also provide for the restitution of the gold the Fund held on the date of the Second Amendment to members of the Fund as of August 31, 1975. Restitution would involve the sale of gold to this group of members at the former official price of SDR 35 per ounce, with such sales made to those members who agree to buy it in proportion to their quotas on the date of the Second Amendment. A decision to restitute gold requires support from an 85 per cent majority of the total voting power. The Articles do not provide for the restitution of gold the Fund has acquired after the date of the Second Amendment.

The IMF’s policy on gold is governed by the following principles:

As an undervalued asset held by the IMF, gold provides fundamental strength to its balance sheet. Any mobilization of IMF gold should avoid weakening its overall financial position.

The IMF should continue to hold a relatively large amount of gold among its assets, not only for prudential reasons, but also to meet unforeseen contingencies.

The IMF has a systemic responsibility to avoid causing disruptions to the functioning of the gold market.

Profits from any gold sales should be used whenever feasible to create an investment fund, of which only the income should be used.

HOW AND WHEN IMF USED GOLD:

Outflows of gold from the IMF’s holdings occurred under the original Articles of Agreement through sales of gold for currency, and via payments of remuneration and interest. As noted, since the Second Amendment of the Articles of Agreement, outflows of gold can only occur through outright sales.

Key gold transactions included:

Sales for replenishment (1957-70): The IMF sold gold on several occasions to replenish its holdings of currencies.

South African gold (1970-71): The IMF sold gold to members in amounts roughly corresponding to those purchased from South Africa during this period.

Investment in US government securities (1956-72): In order to generate income to offset operational deficits, some IMF gold was sold to the United States and the proceeds invested in US government securities. Subsequently, a significant buildup of IMF reserves prompted the IMF to reacquire this gold from the US government.

Auctions and restitution sales (1976-80): The IMF sold approximately one third (50 million ounces) of its then-existing gold holdings following an agreement by its members to reduce the role of gold in the international monetary system. Half of this amount was sold in restitution to members at the then-official price of SDR 35 per ounce; the other half was auctioned to the market to finance the Trust Fund, which supported concessional lending by the IMF to low-income countries.

Off-market transactions in gold (1999-2000): In December 1999, the Executive Board authorized off-market transactions in gold of up to 14 million ounces to help finance the IMF's participation in the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) Initiative. Between December 1999 and April 2000, separate but closely linked transactions involving a total of 12.9 million ounces of gold were carried out between the IMF and two members (Brazil and Mexico) that had financial obligations falling due to the IMF.

In the first step, the IMF sold gold to the member at the prevailing market price and the profits were placed in a special account invested for the benefit of the HIPC Initiative. In the second step, the IMF immediately accepted back, at the same market price, the same amount of gold from the member in settlement of that member's financial obligations. In the end, these transactions left balance of the IMF’s holdings of physical gold unchanged.

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