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
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) is a major financial agency of the United Nations, and an international financial institution, headquartered in Washington, D.C., consisting of 190 countries. Its stated mission is "working to foster glo ...
(IMF) with additional funds to increase its lending ability.
History
The GAB was established in 1962, when the governments of eight
International Monetary Fund
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) is a major financial agency of the United Nations, and an international financial institution, headquartered in Washington, D.C., consisting of 190 countries. Its stated mission is "working to foster glo ...
(IMF) members—
Belgium
Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...
,
Canada
Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...
,
France
France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...
,
Italy
Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...
,
Japan, the
Netherlands
)
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, the
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...
, and the
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...
—and the central banks of two others,
Germany
Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...
and
Sweden, 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 ...
.
The G-10 grew in 1964 by the association of the eleventh member,
Switzerland, 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
BRICS is an acronym for five leading emerging economies: Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa. The first four were initially grouped as "BRIC" (or "the BRICs") in 2001 by Goldman Sachs economist Jim O'Neill, who coined the ter ...
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
Saudi Arabia, officially the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), is a country in Western Asia. It covers the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula, and has a land area of about , making it the fifth-largest country in Asia, the second-largest in the A ...
. 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
The Bank for International Settlements (BIS) is an international financial institution owned by central banks that "fosters international monetary and financial cooperation and serves as a bank for central banks".
The BIS carries out its work thr ...
(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
The European Commission (EC) is the executive of the European Union (EU). It operates as a cabinet government, with 27 members of the Commission (informally known as "Commissioners") headed by a President. It includes an administrative body ...
,
International Monetary Fund
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) is a major financial agency of the United Nations, and an international financial institution, headquartered in Washington, D.C., consisting of 190 countries. Its stated mission is "working to foster glo ...
, and
Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development.
Luxembourg
Luxembourg ( ; lb, Lëtzebuerg ; french: link=no, Luxembourg; german: link=no, Luxemburg), officially the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, ; french: link=no, Grand-Duché de Luxembourg ; german: link=no, Großherzogtum Luxemburg is a small lan ...
is an associate member.
See also
*
EU three
The EU three, also known as EU big three, EU triumvirate, EU trio or simply E3, refers to France, Germany and Italy, a group that consists of the three large founding members of the European Union.
It had also been used to refer to the grouping o ...
*
Big Four (Western Europe)
The Big Four, also known as G4, refers to France, Germany, Italy and the United Kingdom. France and the United Kingdom are official nuclear-weapon states and are permanent members of the United Nations Security Council with the power of veto, w ...
*
Group of Six
The Group of Seven (G7) is an intergovernmental political forum consisting of Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom and the United States; additionally, the European Union (EU) is a "non-enumerated member". It is officiall ...
(G6)
*
Group of Seven
The Group of Seven (G7) is an intergovernmental political forum consisting of Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom and the United States; additionally, the European Union (EU) is a "non-enumerated member". It is officiall ...
(G7)
*
Group of Twelve
The Group of Twelve or G12 is a group of industrially advanced countries whose central banks co-operate to regulate international finance.
Note that the G-12 consists of thirteen countries. It encompasses the initial ten members of the Internat ...
(G12)
*
G10 currencies The G10 currencies are ten of the most heavily traded currencies in the world, which are also ten of the world's most liquid currencies. Traders regularly buy and sell them in an open market with minimal impact on their own international exchange ra ...
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