The Chair’s Summing Up Independent Evaluation Office—The IMF’s Exceptional Access Policy: Executive Board Meeting

Executive Directors welcomed the report of the Independent Evaluation Office (IEO) on the IMF’s Exceptional Access Policy (EAP), encompassing the policy’s objectives and design, successive reforms, and experience with its implementation. They recognized that the Fund has sought to find a generally good balance between rules and flexibility in applying the EAP, while reinforcing transparency and accountability and adopting adequate safeguards. Directors generally concurred with the thrust of the evaluation that the EAP provided a structured framework for higher scrutiny through the exceptional access criteria (EAC) and enhanced decision making procedures, while maintaining flexibility through room for judgment in assessing the EAC.