The decision, announced on November 7, 2025, charts a clear path to normalising access under the Poverty Reduction and Growth Trust (PRGT)’s Rapid Credit Facility (RCF).
At the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, the IMF temporarily raised cumulative access limits under the RCF’s exogenous shock and large natural disaster windows to help vulnerable countries cope with unprecedented financial pressures.
The limits were increased from 100% to 150% of quota for the exogenous shock window, and from 133.33% to 183.33% of quota for the natural disaster window.
The IMF will maintain these elevated limits through to the end of 2026. A two-step reduction will then follow: a 25% cut on January 1, 2027, and a further 25% reduction on January 1, 2028. This will return the access limits to their pre-pandemic levels.
According to the Fund, the phased approach preserves sufficient borrowing space for most PRGT-eligible countries facing unexpected shocks while ensuring a gradual transition out of exceptional pandemic-era measures.
Countries that tapped the RCF’s Food Shock window will continue to benefit from an additional 25% of quota on top of the exogenous shock limit until the end of 2029. The IMF said this is designed to align with existing repayment schedules and ensure that affected states retain adequate financing buffers.
The Executive Board also approved an adjustment mechanism to ensure that access limits are recalibrated once the 16th General Review of Quotas takes effect, helping to maintain the limits broadly unchanged in Special Drawing Right terms.
All decisions were adopted on a lapse-of-time basis, meaning they came into effect without the need for a formal Board meeting.
–IMF/ChannelAfrica–
