Review of Data Provision to the Fund for Surveillance Purposes

April2024 IMFPOLICYPAPER REVIEWOFDATAPROVISIONTOTHEFUNDFORSURVEILLANCEPURPOSES IMFstaffregularlyproducespapersproposingnewIMFpolicies,exploringoptionsforreform,orreviewingexistingIMFpoliciesandoperations.Thefollowingdocumentshavebeenreleasedandareincludedinthispackage: APressReleasesummarizingtheviewsoftheExecutiveBoardasexpressedduringitsApril1considerationofthestaffreport. TheStaffReport,preparedbyIMFstaffandcompletedonFebruary20fortheExecutiveBoard’sconsiderationonApril1. TwoStaffSupplements,onetitledReviewofDataProvisiontotheFundforSurveillancePurposes—BackgroundPaper,andtheothersettingouttheproposeddecision. TheIMF’stransparencypolicyallowsforthedeletionofmarket-sensitiveinformationandprematuredisclosureoftheauthorities’policyintentionsinpublishedstaffreportsandotherdocuments. ElectroniccopiesofIMFPolicyPapersareavailabletothepublicfrom http://www.imf.org/external/pp/ppindex.aspx InternationalMonetaryFundWashington,D.C. ©2024InternationalMonetaryFund PR24/116 IMFExecutiveBoardConcludes2024ReviewofDataProvisiontotheFund FORIMMEDIATERELEASE TheReviewofDataProvisiontotheFundforSurveillancePurposestookplaceinthecontextofprofoundshiftsintheglobaleconomy.Trendssuchasrisingglobaldebtlevels,inflationarypressures,increasinglycomplexfinancialsystems,andmulti-speedgrowthtrajectorieshighlighttheneedforadequatemacroeconomicandfinancialdatatoinformanalysisandpolicymaking. TheReviewexpandstheminimumsetofnationaldatathatmembersarerequiredtoprovidetotheFundfortheeffectivedischargeofitsduties.Thisdatawillhelpenhancemacroeconomicanalysisandadaptpolicyadvicetothecontinuouslyevolvingeconomicandfinanciallandscape. Enhanceddataprovision,togetherwithastrengthenedframeworkforassessingdataadequacy,willsupporteven-handednessinsurveillance,reduceblindspots,andfurtherimprovetheeffectivenessofFundsurveillance. Washington,DC:OnApril1,2024,theExecutiveBoardoftheInternationalMonetaryFund(IMF)concludedareviewofthepolicyonDataProvisiontotheFundforSurveillancePurposes(DPF).Thereviewtookplaceagainstthebackdropofprofoundshiftsintheglobaleconomy,suchasrisingglobaldebtlevels,inflationarypressureswithattendanttightmonetarypolicies,increasinglycomplexfinancialsystems,andmulti-speedgrowthtrajectories.Thesetrendshighlighttheneedforadequatemacroeconomicandfinancialdatatoinformanalysisandpolicymaking. TheminimumlistofindicatorsthatmembersarerequiredtoprovidetotheFundunderArticleVIII,Section5oftheFund’sArticlesofAgreementwaslastupdatedbytheExecutiveBoardin2004.Sincethen,Fundsurveillanceneedshavecontinuedtoevolvegivenglobaleconomicdevelopments. Guidedbythe2021ComprehensiveSurveillanceReview,theDPFreviewintroducesasubstantialupdatetotheoverallenvelopeofdatathatmembersarerequiredtoprovidetotheFundintheareasofpublicsector,foreignexchangeintervention,andmacrofinancialindicators.MostFundmembersalreadyprovidetheseindicatorsvoluntarilybutaddressingtheremainingdatagapswouldensureeven-handednessinsurveillance,reduceblindspots,andtherebyfurtherimprovetheeffectivenessofFundsurveillance. Effectivesurveillancealsorequiresamorestructuredandtransparentassessmentofdataadequacyforsurveillance.Thisreviewintroducedastrengthenedassessmentframework,whichwillfacilitatepolicydialoguewiththeauthoritiesondataissuesandimproveprioritizationofcapacitydevelopmentefforts.Thiswillalsoenhancetheintegrationofsurveillanceandcapacitydevelopmentactivities. 2 TheDPF’skeyfindingsandrecommendationsarereflectedtheMainPaper[inserthyperlink],whiletheBackgroundPaper[inserthyperlink]elaboratesontechnicalandlegalaspectsofdataprovisionandreportsresultsfromsurveysofcountryauthoritiesandIMFstaff. ExecutiveBoardAssessment1 ExecutiveDirectorswelcomedtheconclusionoftheReviewofDataProvisiontotheFundforSurveillancePurposes.Theyrecalledthat,duringthemeetingofMarch2022,theyhadalreadyendorsedtheintroductionofamorestructuredandtransparentassessmentofdataadequacyforsurveillance,theapproachtodealwithoutdateddatarequirements,andtheintroductionofmandatoryprovisionofmacrofinancialindicators.DirectorsalsorecalledtheirrecentendorsementoftheuseofthereviseddataadequacyassessmentframeworkstartinginFebruary2024. Notingthatthelistofmandatorydataserieswaslastupdatedin2004,DirectorsconcurredthatadaptingtheperimeterofmandatorydataprovisiontotheevolvingglobaleconomyiscrucialforensuringtheeffectivenessandevenhandednessofFundsurveillance.Giventheprioritiesidentifiedinthe2021ComprehensiveSurveillanceReview,theygenerallysupportedupdatingandexpandingtheoverallenvelopeofmandatorydataprovisionintheareasofpublicsector,foreignexchangeinterventions(FXI),andswapsandreposamongcentralbanks,whilereiteratingtheirsupportforexpandingmacrofinancialdatarequirements. Directorsacknowledgedthatthestreamlinedproposalsondataonpublicsector,foreignexchangeinterventions,andcentralbankswapsandrepos,representacompromisethataimstoenhancetheinformationthattheFundneedsforsurveillance,whiletakingintoconsiderationthekeyconcernsraisedbyFundmembersduringtheReview. Directorsendorsedtheexpansionofthemandatoryprovisionofpublicsectordata,asproposedint