BRIC retains blocking stake in NAB program for IMF
MOSCOW. May 12 (Interfax) - The BRIC countries (Brazil, Russia, India and China) have collectively retained sufficient votes to veto decisions concerning the New Arrangements to Borrow (NAB) program for the IMF despite the addition of 13 new members, the head of the Finance Ministry's department of international finance relations, Andrei Bokarev, told journalists on Wednesday.
"Even including the 13 new members, the BRIC countries have retained their blocking stake," Bokarev said.
About six weeks ago the IMF's board of directors approved the entry of 13 new members into the NAB program, to join the 26 existing members. All of the main parameters of the program were decided in the fall of 2009. "The agreements that were achieved at the level of the BRIC countries have been retained. The BRIC countries combined have a blocking stake of over 15%," he said.
The power conferred by a blocking stake will enable the BRIC group to control the decision-making process, he said.
The G20 countries approved creation of the NAB program last year. "The NAB is a credit arrangement between the IMF and a group of members and institutions to providesupplementary resources to the IMF when these are needed 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," the IMF said in materials published on its web site.