The International Monetary Fund is one of the most important market movers out there. Its actions have caused turmoil on the markets in recent years, and since its inception. Few traders understand the importance of the institution, however, and fewer still are able to predict its effects on the world markets.
This guide takes a look at the IMF from the basics of what it is and how it works to more complicated descriptions of how it pushes world markets and why traders should be keeping an eye on it.

What is the IMF?
The IMF was set up by the Bretton Woods agreement as part of the system of weights and governance that kept semi-fixed exchange rates in place across the world. It’s goal was then, and is still, international monetary cooperation.

The institution has several principles that are pillars in its vision of a globalized free trade system. It wants to minimize trade imbalances and create currencies that float freely with maximum stability, an approach designed to maximize trade between all countries. It is one of the three most important multinational economic institutions, alongside the World Bank and the World Trade Organization.

How does it work?
The IMF is an organization of 188 countries, each giving its share of funds to the organization. Operating like a company, the funds also determine the amount of votes each country has. That means that the United States, which has the most votes, has close to three times the voting power of the second biggest contributor Japan.

Policy is decided by the Board of Governors, a body made up of two representatives from each country, a governor and an alternate. These are usually the highest profile financial controllers from the respective countries. For example, the United Kingdom’s representative is the Chancellor George Osborne. His alternate is the Governor of the Bank of England Mark Carney.

The Board of Governors delegates day to day operations to the Executive Board of 24 members. 8 of these members: the USA, Japan, Germany, France, the UK, China, Russia and Saudi Arabia get their own representative. The other 16 spots represent constituencies of between 4 and 22 countries each.

The IMF board elects a Managing director, currently Christine Lagarde.

Why does it affect my investment?
There’s three basic ways that the IMF works on the financial markets, the first is through information and analysis releases, the second through its existence as a lender of last resort, and the third in its actual dealings with countries. We’ll deal with each of these issues separately here, though they’re often intertwined.

Information and analysis

The International Monetary Fund is constantly releasing information about the basic state of the world economy, from simple data collection to forward looking analyses of global and regional trends. This is some of the most highly regarded economic data and analysis on the planet, and it has been known to move markets.

Example of important, market-moving reports include the organization’s World Economic Outlook, anything it releases on a country in an IMF program, and its case studies on economic performance and reforms.

Lender of last resort

The IMF acts as a lender of last resort for the lenders of last resort. This is a passive effect of the organization. Its impact is priced into the market, and it’s generally clear that countries have options other than outright default when they run into financial trouble.

This may not effect the market directly, but it has a logically compressing impact on bond yields around the world. Recent action in Europe has strengthened this part of the IMF’s reputation. This effect is implicit, meaning it will only move markets if it is questioned, or confidence in its ability to achieve this end falls.

IMF loans

When a country hits rock bottom and it can no longer afford the interest rates the markets levy, it heads to the IMF for a dig-out. Conditions are usually attached to these loans, and are sometimes controversial. As can be seen from several events in recent years, markets stand up and react when the IMF steps in.

This has been most apparent in Europe in recent years. IMF intervention in countries like Greece and Ireland forced changes in government policy, and completely revolutionized the way European bonds were treated by the world market.

This is the most dramatic way in which the IMF has an effect on markets, but it is not as uncommon as might be believed. Loans from the IMF have increased in recent decades, and dozens of countries are currently in some kind of IMF program.

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The role of central banks in deciding exchange rate levels cannot be overestimated. If you want to trade currencies you need to understand what a central bank is, and how it controls exchange rates.

The actions of these institutions drives the day to-day fluctuations in the forex markets, but who are they, and how do they work? Here’s  a look at the 6 most important central banks in the world, and the way they make their decisions.

1. The Federal Reserve
This is the big one. The Federal Reserve is the most talked about, and by far the most important, central bank on the planet. The Dollar is the currency of world trade.

How does it work? The seven governors, appointed by the president and confirmed by the senate, serve 14-year terms. The meet once every six weeks with 5 of the 12 presidents of the district reserve banks to form the Federal Open Market Committee. This committee decides interest rates, and more dramatic actions by the central bank.

What does it want? The Federal Reserve’s dual mandate is full employment and stable prices, meaning it wants to keep both inflation and unemployment low. This goal, which is wider than that of many other central banks, is what allowed actions like quantitative easing to take place based on unemployment figures rather than inflation numbers.

2. The European Central Bank
The guardian of the European common currency, the ECB was set up by a treaty between the member states of the Eurozone, which now number 19.

How does it work?  The decision making body of the bank is made up of the 19 heads of regional central banks and six executive board members nominated by the governments of the bloc in concord with each other. The bank’s governing council meets twice per month in Frankfurt, and announces its monetary policy decisions at the first of these.

What does it want? Enshrined in treaty, the objective of the ECB is clear: maintain price stability in the Eurozone. This is the reason that the ECB was not able to introduce QE-style program to allay the effects of unemployment. The bank was only allowed to interfere on the grounds of dangerous deflation.

3. The Bank of Japan
The keeper of the Yen since the nineteenth century Meiji Restoration, the BoJ is the monetary policy decision maker of Japan.

How does it work? The committee of the bank of Japan is made up of nine members, including a governor and two deputy governors. The committee meets once or twice per month in order to decide the country’s monetary policy.

What does it want? The bank of Japan doesn’t have the kind of clearly defined goals that the Fed or ECB have, making it a little less predictable. It’s mandate gives it reign to implement monetary policy and ensure the soundness of the financial system while maintaining price stability, though it doesn’t put any of these goals on a pedestal above the others.

4. The Bank of England
By far the oldest bank on this list, and the one that the rest have based themselves off of, the Bank of England has been around for more than three hundred years.

How does it work? Tricky because of its reliance on British traditional politics for guidance, the Bank of England’s monetary policy is decided by a committee which is made up of nine members and meets once every month.

What does it want? Price stability is currently the main goal of the BoE, but that can change as it’s the government that chooses the inflation target, and the overall objective can be amended by act of parliament. If the bank misses that target by a wide margin it has to explain its mistakes to the Chancellor of the Exchequer.

5. The Swiss National Bank
Established in 1907, the Swiss National Bank floats 45% of its shares on the stock market, and is the only central bank on this list that actually makes a profit.

How does it work? The SNB is supposed to conduct it monetary policy decisions as if it were an independent central bank. The governing board of the SNB has three members who are responsible for decisions on monetary policy. It decides interest rates quarterly.

What does it want? Price stability, including a definition thereof, is the central goal of the Swiss National Bank, though it has a secondary goal of accounting for economic developments in order to foster an atmosphere that supports economic growth.

6. The People’s Bank of China
Unusually opaque, the People’s Bank of China acts as the central bank for the yuan. It was the only bank in the communist country for decades, but the liberalization of the banking system left the PBC squarely with the duties of a central bank.

How does it work? China’s monetary policy is decided by  a committee which includes the governor and two deputy-governors of the PBC, along with representatives from government, regulators and an academic. The committee meets quarterly.

What does it want? The goals of the monetary policy committee are set to be prescribed by the State Council, meaning they’re unusually amendable.

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MKTPlace is a leading digital and social media platform for traders and investors. MKTPlace offers premiere resources for trading and investing education, digital resources for personal finance, news about IoT, AI, Blockchain, Business, market analysis and education resources and guides.