International financial institutions

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LESSON 15 
INTERNATIONAL FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS 
STRUCTURE 
15.0 Objectives 
15.1 Introduction 
15.2 International Sources of finance 
15.3 The World Bank 
15.3.1 
International Bank for Reconstruction and 
Development 
15.3.2 
International Development Association 
15.3.3 
International Finance Corporation 
15.3.4 
The multilateral investment guarantee agency 
(MIGA) 
15.3.5 
What does the World Bank do? 
15.3.6 
Where does the World Bank get its money? 
15.3.7 
Who runs the World Bank? 
15.4 International monetary fund 
15.4.1 
Origins of IMF 
15.4.2 
Members and administration 
15.4.3 Statutory 
purposes 
15.4.4 Financial 
assistance 
15.5 SDRs 
15.6 Asian development bank (ADB) 
15.7 Summary 
15.8 Keywords 

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15.9 Self assessment questions 
15.10 References/Suggested readings 
15.0 OBJECTIVES 
After reading this lesson, you should be able to- 
• 
Describe the working and objectives of some of the 
international financial institutions; 
• 
Explain the various dimensions of World Bank and IMF; 
and 
• 
Know how the international financial institutions are 
regulated. 
15.1 INTRODUCTION 
At the Bretton Woods Conference in 1944 it was decided to 
establish a new monetary order that would expand international 
trade, promote international capital flows and contribute to monetary 
stability. The IMF and the World Bank were borne out of this 
Conference of the end of World War II. The World Bank was 
established to help the restoration of economies disrupted by War by 
facilitating the investment of capital for productive purposes and to 
promote the long-range balanced growth of international trade. On the 
other hand, the IMF is primarily a supervisory institution for 
coordinating the efforts of member countries to achieve greater 
cooperation in the formulation of economic policies. It helps to 
promote exchange stability and orderly exchange relations among its 
member countries. It is in this context that the present chapter 
reviews the purpose and working of some of the international financial 
institutions and the contributions made by them in promoting 

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economic and social progress in developing countries by helping raise 
standards of living and productivity to the point of which development 
becomes self-sustaining.