THE Executive Board of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) approved temporary modifications to the modalities for its Post Programme Monitoring (PPM) until end-2022, in response to the challenges posed by the pandemic.

"The increase in IMF lending, including in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic, has led to an unprecedented amount of credit outstanding, underscoring the need for appropriate safeguards to the IMF’s balance sheet," said the Washington-headquartered body.

The PPM is one such safeguard, providing a framework for deeper and closer engagement with members that have substantial outstanding IMF credit but are not in a programme relationship.

However, the ongoing pandemic is straining the capacity as well as resources for members and the IMF, given the need to focus efforts on immediate crisis-related work.

"In view of these challenges, the Board decided to temporarily modify the implementation modalities for PPM by suspending the annual standalone PPM report and conducting the PPM discussions at the time of the Article IV consultation," said the board during a May 7 meeting.

The Article IV report for members subject to PPM will also include all the elements of the PPM discussion. These streamlined processes will apply to all members subject to PPM until end-2022, after which the standard modalities, including the standalone PPM report will resume.

The Board also renamed the policy from Post Programme Monitoring (PPM) to Post Financing Assessment (PFA) to better reflect its coverage, which includes not only outstanding credit from IMF-supported programs but also credit from outright purchases from the General Resources Account or disbursements from the Poverty Reduction and Growth Trust under emergency financing instruments.