Definition: Poverty reduction and growth facility

Category: IMF terminology

Established as the Enhanced Structural Adjustment Facility (ESAF) in 1987, enlarged and extended in 1994, and further strengthened in 1999 to make poverty reduction a key and more explicit element. The purpose of the facility is to support programs to strengthen substantially and in a sustainable manner balance of payments positions, and to foster durable growth, leading to higher living standards and a reduction in poverty. Eighty low-income countries are currently PRGF-eligible. Loans are disbursed under three-year arrangements, subject to observance of performance criteria and the completion of program reviews. Loans carry an annual interest rate of 0.5 percent, with a 5-1/2 year grace period and a 10-year maturity. http://www.imf.org/external/np/exr/glossary/showTerm.asp