The International Monetary Fund is an international financial institution headquartered in Washington, D.C.

The Fund was established on July 22, 1944 at the Bretton Woods Conference in the United States. The IMF began its financial operations in 1947. Poland participated in the Bretton Woods conference and was one of the founding members of the Fund. However, Poland left the IMF in 1950, but rejoined the Fund in 1986. Poland’s quota amounts to SDR 4095.4 million and translates into voting power of 0,84 percent of total votes.

The primary purposes of the IMF stipulated in the Articles of Agreement are:

• promoting international monetary cooperation,
• facilitating the expansion and balanced growth of international trade,
• promoting exchange rate stability,
• assisting in the establishment of a multilateral system of payments,
• providing loans to member countries that are experiencing actual or potential balance-of-payments problems.

The IMF's primary mission is to ensure the stability of the international monetary system. The Fund carries out this mission primarily in two core areas: surveillance and financial assistance.

The first core responsibility of the IMF is to oversee the international monetary system and monitor the economic and financial policies of its 189 member countries, an activity known as surveillance. As part of this process, which takes place at the global, regional, and country levels, the IMF identifies potential risks to stability and recommends appropriate policy adjustments needed to sustain economic growth and promote financial and economic stability. IMF monitoring includes both bilateral surveillance, focused on individual member countries, and multilateral surveillance, or oversight of the global economy.

The main instrument of bilateral surveillance are consultations with individual member states, known as Article IV consultations because they are required by Article IV of the IMF's Articles of Agreement. During an Article IV consultation, an IMF team of economists visits a country (typically on annual basis) to assess economic and financial developments. During these visits IMF staff engage government and central bank officials in discussions about risks to domestic and global stability. These discussions focus on exchange rate, monetary, fiscal, and regulatory policies, in addition to macro-critical structural reforms. Following these consultations the IMF provides advice to member countries and promotes policies designed to foster economic stability, and reduce vulnerability to economic and financial crises. Another key instrument of bilateral surveillance is the Financial Sector Assessment Program (FSAP), which is a comprehensive and in-depth analysis of a country’s financial sector.

Global surveillance entails reviews by the IMF's Executive Board of global economic trends and developments. The Fund issues periodic reports on these trends. The World Economic Outlook provides detailed analysis of the global economy and its growth prospects, addressing issues such as the macroeconomic effects of global financial turmoil and the potential for global spillovers, especially those that may result from the economic, fiscal, and monetary policies of large, globally central economies such as the United States, China, and the euro area. The Global Financial Stability Report assesses global capital markets and financial imbalances and vulnerabilities that pose potential risks to financial stability. The Fiscal Monitor updates medium-term fiscal projections and assesses developments in public finances.

The second core responsibility of the IMF is to provide loans to member countries that are experiencing actual or potential balance-of-payments problems. The IMF’s various lending instruments are tailored to different types of balance of payments needs as well as the specific circumstances of its diverse membership.

The main lending instruments are

• Stand-by Arrangement,
• Extended Fund Facility,
• Flexible Credit Line,
• Precautionary and Liquidity Line and
• Rapid Financing Instrument.

The IMF’s governance structure consists of

• the Board of Governors,
• the Executive Board and
• the Managing Director. Currently the position of the Managing Director is held by Kristalina Georgieva.

The Board of Governors is the highest decision-making body of the IMF. It consists of one governor and one alternate governor for each member country. The governor is appointed by the member country and is usually the minister of finance or the head of the central bank. While the Board of Governors has delegated most of its powers to the IMF’s Executive Board, it retains the right to, among other things, approve quota increases, special drawing right (SDR) allocations, the admittance of new members, compulsory withdrawal of members, and amendments to the Articles of Agreement. The Board of Governors also elects Executive Directors. Poland is represented at the Board of Governors by the Minister of Finance.

The Executive Board is responsible for conducting the day-to-day business of the IMF. It is composed of 24 Executive Directors, who are elected by member countries or by groups of countries, and the Managing Director, who serves as its Chairman. The largest shareholders are represented by their own Executive Directors (namely Unites States, Japan, China, Germany, France, United Kingdom and Saudi Arabia). The other countries form groups in the Constituencies. Executive Directors are elected by countries comprising each constituency. The Board usually meets several times each week. It carries out its work largely on the basis of papers prepared by IMF management and staff.

Poland belongs to the Constituency with: Switzerland, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyz Republic, Serbia, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan. Liechtenstein became the tenth member of this Constituency and the 191st member of IMF in September 2024. The Constituency has been represented since November 2024 by Polish representative, Patryk Łoszewski, Executive Director, who was elected for this position. Swiss representative Christoph Baumann holds a position of Alterante Executive Director. 

Latest IMF reports on Poland

• 2020 Article IV Consultation – Staff Report 
• Republic of Poland : Financial System Stability Assessment 

General information

IMF website 

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