Individual consultations to form assessments of global and regional developments and prospects.

Technical assistance and training are offered — mostly free of charge — to help member count

ries strengthen their capacity to design and implement effective policies. Technical assistance is

offered in several areas, including fiscal policy, monetary and exchange rate policies, banking and

financial system supervision and regulation, and statistics.

— In the event that member countries do experience difficulties financing their balance of payments,

the IMF is also a fund that can be tapped to help in recovery.

Financial assistance is available to give member countries the breathing room they need to correct

balance of payments problems. A policy program supported by IMF financing is designed by

the national authorities in close cooperation with the IMF, and continued financial support is

conditional on effective implementation of this program.

— The IMF is also actively working to reduce poverty in countries around the globe, independentl

y and in collaboration with the World Bank and other organizations.

The IMF provides financial support through its concessional lending facility — the Poverty

Reduction and Growth Facility (PRGF) — and through debt relief under the Heavily Indebted

Poor Countries (HIPC) Initiative.

In most low-income countries, this support is underpinned by Poverty Reduction Strategy Papers

(PRSP). These papers are prepared by country authorities — in consultation with civil society

and external development partners — to describe a comprehensive economic, structural and social

P olic у framework that is being implemented to promote growth and reduce poverty in the country.

3. The World Bank is the most important institution of settling the international movement of

capital and it is known as the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development.

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С is the most important institution of settling the international movement of capital.

The World Bank Group consists of five closely associated institutions, all owned by member countries

that carry ultimate decision-making power. The term WBG encompasses five institutions.

The term WB refers to two of the five, IBRD and IDA. The International Bank for Reconstruction

and Development is the core of the World Bank.

The World Bank Group includes: a) the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development;

b) the International Development Association; c) the International Finance Corporation;

d) the Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency; e) the International Centre for the Settlement

of Investment Disputes.

a) The International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD) is a part of the World Bank

Group (International Development Association; International Finance Corporation; Multilateral Investment

Guarantee Agency). The establishment of the IBRD, like the International Monetary Fund,

was agreed by the representatives of forty-four countries at the UN Monetary and Financial Conference

at Bretton Woods in July 1944. It began operations in June 1946, and has its head office in Washington,

DC. The purpose of the Bank is to encourage capital investment for the reconstruction and

development of its member countries, either by channelling the necessary private funds or by making

loans from its own resources. Originally, 20 per cent of each member’s subscription was paid into the

Bank’s funds in currency and gold, but this has been progressively reduced to 4.4 per cent; the remainder