SDR allocation by the IMF increased CNB international reserves

CNB international reserves increased by USD 2.1 billion to USD 41.0 billion from 31 July to 30 September 2009 . This is due to the fact, that the allocation of special drawing rights (SDR) to the Czech Republic from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in the amount of USD 1.2 billion is included in the international reserves.

In August 2009, the Board of Governors of the International Monetary Fund decided on SDR allocation to its member countries (186 countries in total). The IMF made a general SDR allocation equivalent to USD 250 billion and a special one-time allocation equivalent to USD 33 billion. Both SDR allocations are designed to provide liquidity to the global economic system by supplementing foreign exchange reserves of all IMF member countries.

The Czech Republic obtained a total of SDR 607,355,119 from the general allocation on 28 August 2009 and a total of SDR 172,845,891 from the special one-time allocation on 9 September 2009. In compliance with the IMF statistical standards, the allocated funds have been included in the Czech National Bank’s international reserves.

Marek Petruš, CNB spokesman