The Group of Ten (G-10 or G10) refers to the group of countries that agreed to participate in the General Arrangements to Borrow (GAB), an agreement to provide the
International Monetary Fund (IMF) with additional funds to increase its lending ability.
History
The GAB was established in 1962, when the governments of eight
International Monetary Fund (IMF) members—
Belgium,
Canada,
France,
Italy,
Japan
Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...
, the
Netherlands, the
United Kingdom, and the
United States—and the central banks of two others,
Germany and
Sweden
Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic country located on ...
, agreed to make resources available to the IMF with an additional $6 billion of their resources.
The additional money was intended to allow the IMF to have increased lending resources.
In 1964, the funds were used by the IMF to rescue the
pound sterling
Sterling (abbreviation: stg; Other spelling styles, such as STG and Stg, are also seen. ISO code: GBP) is the currency of the United Kingdom and nine of its associated territories. The pound ( sign: £) is the main unit of sterling, and t ...
.
The G-10 grew in 1964 by the association of the eleventh member,
Switzerland
). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...
, then not a member of the IMF, but the name of the group remained the same.
Activities
The GAB enables the IMF to borrow specified amounts of currencies from these eleven industrial countries (or their central banks), under certain circumstances. Specifically, a proposal for calls under the GAB may only be made when a proposal for the establishment of an activation period under the
New Arrangements to Borrow (NAB) is not accepted by NAB participants, who number 38 countries, amongst which are the
BRICS nations and Middle Eastern powers.
The potential amount of credit available to the IMF under the GAB totals
SDR 17bn (about $26bn), with an additional SDR 1.5bn available under an associated arrangement with
Saudi Arabia. The GAB was established in 1962 and expanded in 1983 to SDR 17bn, from about SDR 6bn. It has been activated ten times, the last time in 1998. The GAB and the associated credit arrangement with Saudi Arabia have been renewed, without modifications, for a period of five years from December 26, 2013.
The
Bank for International Settlements (BIS) hosts a publications e-library page for the G-10.
Observers
The following international organizations are official observers of the activities of the G10: the BIS,
European Commission,
International Monetary Fund, and
Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development
The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD; french: Organisation de coopération et de développement économiques, ''OCDE'') is an intergovernmental organization, intergovernmental organisation with 38 member countries ...
.
Luxembourg is an associate member.
See also
*
EU three
*
Big Four (Western Europe)
*
Group of Six (G6)
*
Group of Seven (G7)
*
Group of Twelve (G12)
*
G10 currencies
References
External links
IMF – A Guide To Committees, Groups, and Clubs
{{Authority control
International development
International finance institutions
Economic country classifications
Intergovernmental organizations
20th-century diplomatic conferences
21st-century diplomatic conferences
Organizations established in 1962