International Monetary Fund

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) works to achieve sustainable growth and prosperity for all of its 191 member countries. It does so by supporting economic policies that promote financial stability and monetary cooperation, which are essential to increase productivity, job creation, and economic well-being. The IMF is governed by and accountable to its member countries. The IMF has three critical missions: furthering international monetary cooperation, encouraging the expansion of trade and economic growth, and discouraging policies that would harm prosperity. To fulfill these missions, IMF member countries work collaboratively with each other and with other international bodies. Who runs the IMF? The IMF is accountable to its member country governments. At the top of the?organizational structure?is the?Board of Governors, consisting of one governor and one alternate governor from each member country, usually the top officials from the central bank or finance ministry. The Board of Governors meets once a year at the?IMF–World Bank Annual Meetings. Twenty-five of the governors serve on the International Monetary and Financial Committee, or IMFC, which advises the IMF's Executive Board. The day-to-day work of the IMF is overseen by its 25-member?Executive Board, which represents the entire membership and is supported by IMF staff. The Managing Director is the head of the?IMF staff?and Chair of the Executive Board and is assisted by four Deputy Managing Directors. When was the IMF founded? The IMF was conceived in July 1944 at the United Nations Bretton Woods Conference. The 44 countries in attendance sought to build a framework for international economic cooperation and avoid repeating the competitive currency devaluations that contributed to the Great Depression of the 1930s.