Title 22, Foreign Relations and IntercourseRelease 119-110
§286e–2 Loans to Fund
Title 22 › CHAPTER 7 — INTERNATIONAL BUREAUS, CONGRESSES, ETC. › SUBCHAPTER XV — INTERNATIONAL MONETARY FUND AND BANK FOR RECONSTRUCTION AND DEVELOPMENT › § 286e–2
Summary
The Secretary of the Treasury can lend money to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to help protect the world monetary system. The law allows loans up to 6,712,000,000 Special Drawing Rights (SDR). It also allows extra, one-time loan authority up to the dollar value of 75,000,000,000 SDR and another up to 28,202,470,000 SDR, but only if Congress provides the money first. Before any of these loans can be activated, the Secretary must tell Congress that extra resources are needed to prevent or deal with a serious problem in the international monetary system and that the IMF has looked for other ways to fund the need. Loans must be made with attention to the United States’ balance of payments and reserves. Before agreeing to changes to the New Arrangements to Borrow, the Secretary must consult with the listed congressional committees, explain the changes and contributors, and try to keep the U.S. share at or below 20 percent (about the U.S. share on June 24, 2009). Money for these loans is authorized up to the amounts above and repayments can be reused unless Congress cancels them. Interest and charges paid on IMF loans go into the U.S. Treasury. The U.S. may also get money to cover charges when it buys currency or gold from the IMF. The Secretary must include an extra finding before activating the New Arrangements to Borrow that the IMF’s one-year forward commitment capacity (not counting borrowed resources) is expected to fall below 100,000,000,000 SDR during activation and that activation is in the United States’ strategic economic interest, with reasons. The Secretary must consult the appropriate congressional committees (Senate Appropriations and Foreign Relations; House Appropriations and Financial Services) before these reports and certifications. The loan authority would have faced a 5-year limit after December 16, 2009 unless certain certifications were made 60 days before that date or before NAB renewal, and the authority also expires on December 31, 2030.
Full Legal Text
Title 22, §286e–2
Foreign Relations and Intercourse, Source: USLM XML via OLRC
(a)Limitations
(1)In order to carry out the purposes of the decisions of January 5, 1962, February 24, 1983, and January 27, 1997, as amended in accordance with their terms, of the Executive Directors of the International Monetary Fund, the Secretary of the Treasury is authorized to make loans, in an amount not to exceed the equivalent of 6,712,000,000 Special Drawing Rights, limited to such amounts as are provided in advance in appropriations Acts, except that prior to activation, the Secretary of the Treasury shall certify that supplementary resources are needed to forestall or cope with an impairment of the international monetary system and that the Fund has fully explored other means of funding, to the Fund under article VII, section 1(i), of the Articles of Agreement of the Fund. Any loan under the authority granted in this subsection shall be made with due regard to the present and prospective balance of payments and reserve position of the United States.
(2)In order to carry out the purposes of a one-time decision of the Executive Directors of the International Monetary Fund (the Fund) to expand the resources of the New Arrangements to Borrow, established pursuant to the decision of January 27, 1997 referred to in paragraph (1) above, and to make other amendments to the New Arrangements to Borrow to achieve an expanded and more flexible New Arrangements to Borrow as contemplated by paragraph 17 of the G–20 Leaders’ Statement of April 2, 2009 in London, the Secretary of the Treasury is authorized to instruct the United States Executive Director to consent to such amendments notwithstanding subsection (d) of this section, and to make loans, in an amount not to exceed the dollar equivalent of 75,000,000,000 Special Drawing Rights, in addition to any amounts previously authorized under this section and limited to such amounts as are provided in advance in appropriations Acts, except that prior to activation, the Secretary of the Treasury shall report to Congress on whether supplementary resources are needed to forestall or cope with an impairment of the international monetary system and whether the Fund has fully explored other means of funding, to the Fund under article VII, section 1(i), of the Articles of Agreement of the Fund: Provided, That prior to instructing the United States Executive Director to provide consent to such amendments, the Secretary of the Treasury shall consult with the appropriate congressional committees on the amendments to be made to the New Arrangements to Borrow, including guidelines and criteria governing the use of its resources; the countries that have made commitments to contribute to the New Arrangements to Borrow and the amount of such commitments; and the steps taken by the United States to expand the number of countries so the United States share of the expanded New Arrangements to Borrow remains not greater than 20 percent, which approximates the United States share as of June 24, 2009: Provided further, That any loan under the authority granted in this subsection shall be made with due regard to the present and prospective balance of payments and reserve position of the United States.
(3)In order to carry out the purposes of a one-time decision of the Executive Directors of the International Monetary Fund (the Fund) to expand the resources of the New Arrangements to Borrow, established pursuant to the decision of January 27, 1997, referred to in paragraph (1), the Secretary of the Treasury is authorized to make loans, in an amount not to exceed the dollar equivalent of 28,202,470,000 of Special Drawing Rights, in addition to any amounts previously authorized under this section, except that prior to activation of the New Arrangements to Borrow, the Secretary of the Treasury shall report to Congress whether supplementary resources are needed to forestall or cope with an impairment of the international monetary system and whether the Fund has fully explored other means of funding to the Fund.
(4)The authority to make loans under this section shall expire on the date that is 5 years after December 16, 2009, unless the Secretary of the Treasury, not later than 60 days before such expiration date or 60 days prior to the renewal of the decision governing the New Arrangements to Borrow (NAB), whichever occurs first, certifies to the appropriate congressional committees, that—
(A)no amendments made, or anticipated to be made, to the NAB to achieve an expanded and more flexible NAB, as described in paragraph 17 of the G20 Leaders’ Statement at the 2009 London Summit, will impair the ability of the Secretary of the Treasury to consider a renewal of the NAB decision at intervals no greater than 5 years and to withdraw the adherence of the United States to the NAB decision as is currently provided under paragraph 19 of the New Arrangement to Borrow, adopted by the Executive Board of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) on January 27, 1997; and
(B)(i)the IMF will borrow resources from members under the NAB only when quota resources need to be supplemented in order to forestall or cope with an impairment of the international monetary system or to deal with an exceptional situation that poses a threat to the stability of that system;
(ii)the IMF has, prior to any activation of the NAB, fully explored other means of funding to supplement any potential shortfall in quota resources necessary to forestall or cope with an impairment of the international monetary system or to deal with an exceptional situation that poses a threat to the stability of that system; or
(iii)it is in the United States’ strategic economic interest to maintain the relative size or lower of the United States contribution to the NAB as in effect on the date of the certification.
(5)Not later than 15 days before submitting the certification under paragraph (4), the Secretary of the Treasury shall consult with the appropriate congressional committees regarding such certification.
(6)The authority to make loans under this section shall expire on December 31, 2030.
(b)Authorization of appropriations; repayments available for loans to Fund
(1)For the purpose of making loans to the International Monetary Fund pursuant to subsection (a)(1) of this section, there is authorized to be appropriated 6,712,000,000 Special Drawing Rights, except that prior to activation, the Secretary of the Treasury shall certify whether supplementary resources are needed to forestall or cope with an impairment of the international monetary system and that the Fund has fully explored other means of funding, to remain available until expended to meet calls by the International Monetary Fund. Any payments made to the United States by the International Monetary Fund as a repayment on account of the principal of a loan made under this section shall continue to be available for loans to the International Monetary Fund, only to the extent that amounts available for such loans are not rescinded by an Act of Congress.
(2)For the purpose of making loans to the International Monetary Fund pursuant to subsection (a)(2) of this section, there is hereby authorized to be appropriated not to exceed the dollar equivalent of 75,000,000,000 Special Drawing Rights, in addition to any amounts previously authorized under this section, except that prior to activation, the Secretary of the Treasury shall report to Congress on whether supplementary resources are needed to forestall or cope with an impairment of the international monetary system and whether the Fund has fully explored other means of funding, to remain available until expended to meet calls by the Fund. Any payments made to the United States by the Fund as a repayment on account of the principal of a loan made under this section shall continue to be available for loans to the Fund, only to the extent that amounts available for such loans are not rescinded by an Act of Congress.
(c)Interest and charges covered into Treasury; additional authorization of appropriations for payment of charges for purchase of currencies or gold from Fund
Payments of interest and charges to the United States on account of any loan to the International Monetary Fund shall be covered into the Treasury as miscellaneous receipts. In addition to the amount authorized in subsection (b), there is authorized to be appropriated such amounts as may be necessary for the payment of charges in connection with any purchases of currencies or gold by the United States from the International Monetary Fund.
(d)Amendment to Executive Directors’ decision prohibited; conditions
Unless the Congress by law so authorizes, neither the President, the Secretary of the Treasury, nor any other person acting on behalf of the United States, may instruct the United States Executive Director to the Fund to consent to any amendment to the Decision of February 24, 1983, or the Decision of January 27, 1997, of the Executive Directors of the Fund, if the adoption of such amendment would significantly alter the amount, terms, or conditions of participation by the United States in the General Arrangements to Borrow or the New Arrangements to Borrow, as applicable.
(e)New requirement for activation of the new arrangements to borrow
(1)The Secretary of the Treasury shall include in the certification and report required by paragraphs (a)(1), (a)(2), (a)(3), (b)(1), and (b)(2) of this section prior to activation an additional certification and report that—
(A)the one-year forward commitment capacity of the IMF (excluding borrowed resources) is expected to fall below 100,000,000,000 Special Drawing Rights during the period of the NAB activation; and
(B)activation of the NAB is in the United States strategic economic interest with the reasons and analysis for that determination.
(2)Prior to submitting any certification and report required by paragraphs (a)(1), (a)(2), (b)(1), and (b)(2) of this section, the Secretary of the Treasury shall consult with the appropriate congressional committees.
(f)Appropriate congressional committees, defined
In this section, the term “appropriate congressional committees” means the Committees on Appropriations and Foreign Relations of the Senate and the Committees on Appropriations and Financial Services of the House of Representatives.
Legislative History
Notes & Related Subsidiaries
Editorial Notes
Amendments
2024—Subsec. (a)(6). Pub. L. 118–47 substituted “
December 31, 2030” for “
December 31, 2025”. 2020—Subsec. (a)(3), (4). Pub. L. 116–136, § 21012(b)(5)(A)(i)(I), (II), added par. (3) and redesignated former par. (3) as (4). Former par. (4) redesignated (5). Subsec. (a)(5). Pub. L. 116–136, § 21012(b)(5)(A)(i)(I), (III), redesignated par. (4) as (5) and substituted “paragraph (4)” for “paragraph (3)”. Former par. (5) redesignated (6). Subsec. (a)(6). Pub. L. 116–136, § 21012(b)(5)(A)(i)(I), (IV), redesignated par. (5) as (6) and substituted “
December 31, 2025” for “
December 16, 2022”. Subsec. (e)(1). Pub. L. 116–136, § 21012(b)(5)(A)(ii), which directed amendment of subsec. (e)(1) by substituting “(a)(2), (a)(3),” for “(a)(2),” “each place such term appears”, was executed as directed to the one place it appeared in subsec. (e)(1), even though “(a)(2),” also appears in subsec. (e)(2). 2015—Subsec. (a)(5). Pub. L. 114–113, § 9001(1), added par. (5). Subsec. (b). Pub. L. 114–113, § 9001(2), inserted before period at end of pars. (1) and (2) “, only to the extent that amounts available for such loans are not rescinded by an Act of Congress”. Subsec. (e). Pub. L. 114–113, § 9001(3), added subsec. (e). Subsec. (f). Pub. L. 114–113, § 9001(4), added subsec. (f). 2009—Subsec. (a). Pub. L. 111–32, § 1401(1), designated existing provisions as par. (1) and added par. (2). Subsec. (a)(2). Pub. L. 111–117, § 7090(c), substituted “remains not greater than 20 percent, which approximates the United States share as of
June 24, 2009” for “is representative of its share as of the date of the enactment of this Act”. Subsec. (a)(3), (4). Pub. L. 111–117, § 7090(b), added pars. (3) and (4). Subsec. (b). Pub. L. 111–32, § 1401(2), designated existing provisions as par. (1), inserted “subsection (a)(1) of” after “pursuant to”, and added par. (2). 1998—Subsec. (a). Pub. L. 105–277, § 101(d) [title VI, § 609(1)], substituted “
February 24, 1983, and
January 27, 1997” for “and
February 24, 1983” and “6,712,000,000” for “4,250,000,000”. Subsec. (b). Pub. L. 105–277, § 101(d) [title VI, § 609(2)], substituted “6,712,000,000” for “4,250,000,000”. Subsec. (d). Pub. L. 105–277, § 101(d) [title VI, § 609(3)], inserted “or the Decision of
January 27, 1997,” after “
February 24, 1983,” and “or the New Arrangements to Borrow, as applicable” before period at end. 1983—Subsec. (a). Pub. L. 98–181, § 802(a)(1), substituted “decisions of
January 5, 1962, and
February 24, 1983, as amended in accordance with their terms” for “decision of
January 5, 1962”, and “in an amount not to exceed the equivalent of 4,250,000,000 Special Drawing Rights, limited to such amounts as are provided in advance in appropriations Acts, except that prior to activation, the Secretary of the Treasury shall certify that supplementary resources are needed to forestall or cope with an impairment of the international monetary system and that the fund has fully explored other means of funding” for “not to exceed $2,000,000,000 outstanding at any one time”. Subsec. (b). Pub. L. 98–181, § 802(a)(2), substituted “4,250,000,000 Special Drawing Rights, except that prior to activation, the Secretary of the Treasury shall certify whether supplementary resources are needed to forestall or cope with an impairment of the international monetary system and that the Fund has fully explored other means of funding” for “$2,000,000,000”. Subsec. (d). Pub. L. 98–181, § 802(a)(3), added subsec. (d). 1976—Subsec. (a). Pub. L. 94–564 substituted “section 1(i)” for “section 2(i)”.
Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries
Effective Date
of 2015 Amendment Pub. L. 114–113, div. K, title IX, § 9001(3), Dec. 18, 2015, 129 Stat. 2829, provided in part that subsection (e) of this section is “effective from the first day of the next period of renewal of the NAB [New Arrangements to Borrow] decision after enactment of this Act [Dec. 18, 2015]”.
Effective Date
of 1976 AmendmentAmendment effective Apr. 1, 1978, see section 9 of Pub. L. 94–564, set out as a note under section 286a of this title.
Reference
Citations & Metadata
Citation
22 U.S.C. § 286e–2
Title 22, Foreign Relations and Intercourse
Last Updated
Sep 22, 2026
Release point: 119-110