Definition: Currency pool loans

Category: External debt - IMF

Currency pool loans, provided by the World Bank and regional development banks, are multicurrency obligations committed in U.S. dollar-equivalent terms whose currency composition is the same (pooled) for all borrowers. The World Bank guarantees that at least 90 percent of the U.S. dollar-equivalent value of the currency pool is maintained in fixed currency ratios of 1 U.S. dollar: 125 Japanese yen: 1 euro. These ratios have been maintained since 1991, and prior to the introduction of the euro, the currency ratios were maintained in a fixed ratio of 1 U.S. dollar: 125 Japanese yen: 2 deutsche mark equivalent (consisting of deutsche mark, Netherlands guilders, and Swiss francs). The currency amount disbursed is converted into a U.S. dollar equivalent amount, using the applicable exchange rate on the day of disbursements. The U.S. dollar equivalent amount is then divided by the pool unit value on the day of disbursement to determine the pool units disbursed. The pool units are what the borrower will have to repay. When pool units are to be repaid, they are converted back into the dollar equivalent amount using the prevailing pool unit value. Thus, the pool unit value may be thought of as an exchange rate used to convert the units into their equivalent value in U.S. dollars, and it changes daily in accordance with movements of the exchange rates of the currencies in the pool. The pool unit value is calculated by dividing the U.S. dollar equivalent of the currencies in the pool by the total number of pool units outstanding. As the U.S. dollar appreciates relative to other currencies in the pool, the pool unit value decreases. http://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/ramon/statmanuals/files/external_debt_guide_2003_EN.pdf#page=227