What Is the IMF? Power, History and Criticism
In 1976 the IMF effectively rewrote the UK budget. It still grades Britain's economy every year, and a single country holds a veto over the whole institution. Here's who really runs it.
Who holds the votes at the IMF
The biggest decisions need an 85% supermajority, so the US vote alone is a veto.
Key takeaways
The IMF was created in 1944 to stabilise the post-war monetary system and act as a lender of last resort to countries in financial trouble.
Voting power is weighted by money, so the United States holds an effective veto and wealthy creditor nations dominate the decisions.
Its bailout conditions have repeatedly forced austerity, privatisation and spending cuts that fall hardest on workers and the poor.
Britain has felt it directly: the 1976 sterling crisis bailout reshaped UK politics, and the IMF still passes annual judgement on the UK economy.