ARTICLES OF AGREEMENT
(As amended effective June 27, 2012)
ARTICLE II: Membership in and Capital of the Bank
- SECTION 1. Membership
- SECTION 2. Authorized Capital
- SECTION 3. Subscription of Shares
- SECTION 4. Issue Price of Shares
- SECTION 5. Division and Calls of Subscribed Capital
- SECTION 6. Limitation on Liability
- SECTION 7. Method of Payment of Subscriptions for Shares
- SECTION 8. Time of Payment of Subscriptions
- SECTION 9. Maintenance of Value of Certain Currency Holdings of the Bank
- SECTION 10. Restriction on Disposal of Shares
SECTION 1. Membership
(a) The original members of the Bank shall be those members of the International Monetary Fund which accept membership in the Bank before the date specified in Article XI, Section 2 (e).
(b) Membership shall be open to other members of the Fund, at such times and in accordance with such terms as may be prescribed by the Bank.
SECTION 2. Authorized Capital
(a) The authorized capital stock of the Bank shall be $10,000,000,000, in terms of United States dollars of the weight and fineness in effect on July 1, 1944. The capital stock shall be divided into 100,000 shares1having a par value of $100,000 each, which shall be available for subscription only by members.
(b) The capital stock may be increased when the Bank deems it advisable by a three-fourths majority of the total voting power.
SECTION 3. Subscription of Shares
(a) Each member shall subscribe shares of the capital stock of the Bank. The minimum number of shares to be subscribed by the original members shall be those set forth in Schedule A. The minimum number of shares to be subscribed by other members shall be determined by the Bank, which shall reserve a sufficient portion of its capital stock for subscription by such members.
(b) The Bank shall prescribe rules laying down the conditions under which members may subscribe shares of the authorized capital stock of the Bank in addition to their minimum subscriptions.
(c) If the authorized capital stock of the Bank is increased, each member shall have a reasonable opportunity to subscribe, under such conditions as the Bank shall decide, a proportion of the increase of stock equivalent to the proportion which its stock theretofore subscribed bears to the total capital stock of the Bank, but no member shall be obligated to subscribe any part of the increased capital.
SECTION 4. Issue Price of Shares
Shares included in the minimum subscriptions of original members shall be issued at par. Other shares shall be issued at par unless the Bank by a majority of the total voting power decides in special circumstances to issue them on other terms.
SECTION 5. Division and Calls of Subscribed Capital=
'The subscription of each member shall be divided into two parts as follows:
(i) twenty percent shall be paid or subject to call under Section 7 (i) of this Article as needed by the Bank for its operations;
(ii) the remaining eighty percent shall be subject to call by the Bank only when required to meet obligations of the Bank created under Article IV, Sections 1 (a) (ii) and (iii).
Calls on unpaid subscriptions shall be uniform on all shares.
SECTION 6. Limitation on Liability
Liability on shares shall be limited to the unpaid portion of the issue price of the shares.
SECTION 7. Method of Payment of Subscriptions for Shares
Payment of subscriptions for shares shall be made in gold or United States dollars and in the currencies of the members as follows:
(i) under Section 5 (i) of this Article two percent of the price of each share shall be payable in gold or United States dollars, and, when calls are made, the remaining eighteen percent shall be paid in the currency of the member;
(ii) when a call is made under Section 5 (ii) of this Article, payment may be made at the option of the member either in gold, in United States dollars or in the currency required to discharge the obligations of the Bank for the purpose for which the call is made;
(iii) when a member makes payments in any currency under (i) and (ii) above, such payments shall be made in amounts equal in value to the member's liability under the call. This liability shall be a proportionate part of the subscribed capital stock of the Bank as authorized and defined in Section 2 of this Article.
SECTION 8. Time of Payment of Subscriptions
(a) The two percent payable on each share in gold or United States dollars under Section 7 (i) of this Article, shall be paid within sixty days of the date on which the Bank begins operations, provided that
(i) any original member of the Bank whose metropolitan territory has suffered from enemy occupation or hostilities during the present war shall be granted the right to postpone payment of one-half percent until five years after that date;
(ii) an original member who cannot make such a payment because it has not recovered possession of its gold reserves which are still seized or immobilized as a result of the war may postpone all payment until such date as the Bank shall decide.
(b) The remainder of the price of each share payable under Section 7 (i) of this Article shall be paid as and when called by the Bank, provided that
(i) the Bank shall, within one year of its beginning operations, call not less than eight percent of the price of the share in addition to the payment of two percent referred to in (a) above;
(ii) not more than five percent of the price of the share shall be called in any period of three months.
SECTION 9. Maintenance of Value of Certain Currency Holdings of the Bank
(a) Whenever (i) the par value of a member's currency is reduced, or (ii) the foreign exchange value of a member's currency has, in the opinion of the Bank, depreciated to a significant extent within that member's territories, the member shall pay to the Bank within a reasonable time an additional amount of its currency sufficient to maintain the value, as of the time of initial subscription, of the amount of the currency of such member which is held by the Bank and derived from currency originally paid in to the Bank by the member under Article II, Section 7 (i), from currency referred to in Article IV, Section 2 (b), or from any additional currency furnished under the provisions of the present paragraph, and which has not been repurchased by the member for gold or for the currency of any member which is acceptable to the Bank.
(b) Whenever the par value of a member's currency is increased, the Bank shall return to such member within a reasonable time an amount of that member's currency equal to the increase in the value of the amount of such currency described in (a) above.
(c) The provisions of the preceding paragraphs may be waived by the Bank when a uniform proportionate change in the par values of the currencies of all its members is made by the International Monetary Fund.
SECTION 10. Restriction on Disposal of Shares
Shares shall not be pledged or encumbered in any manner whatever and they shall be transferable only to the Bank.
Last Updated: Mar 25, 2015