<START> UK ties extra IMF cash to quota reform The International Monetary Fund is unlikely to be able to draw on the UK's $15bn commitment until at least early next year. Chancellor George Osborne's commitment, made Friday, to lend an additional £9.3bn to the IMF has played badly back in the UK, with the government facing a backlash from the opposition and the more Eurosceptic members of its own party. But, despite the amount pledged falling below the £10bn headroom allowed before the chancellor must seek a parliamentary vote, the funds would not be immediately available to the IMF. The delay in the fund's access to the UK's commitment has occurred because use of the $15bn is linked to progress on IMF quota reforms, agreed back in 2010 but which are yet to be ratified by the parliaments of some of the fund's members, including the US. "In 2010 we agreed a historic governance deal, which will play an important role in maintaining the credibility and legitimacy of the IMF," the chancellor said on Saturday in Washington. However, timely implementation is not yet assured. The quota reforms give the major emerging market economies more say in how the IMF is run by handing them a greater proportion of the voting power in the fund's decisions. The chancellor's pledge is contingent on members holding at least 85 per cent of the vote ratifying the reforms. With the US holding a voting share of 17 per cent - the largest of any economy - its ratification is crucial. But, with the US presidential elections looming, this is unlikely to occur this year. With the new president not inaugurated until January 2013, the IMF will not be able to call on the UK's additional commitment until then. The UK is the only IMF member stipulating that its commitment is linked to the ratification of the 2010 quota reforms. However, the major emerging markets, notably Brazil, are insisting that their additional funding pledges are linked to greater clout at the fund. The emerging markets have agreed to commit a minimum of $72bn but have delayed making specific pledges, most likely until June, when G20 leaders meet in Los Cabos, Mexico, with governance of the IMF high on the agenda.