About the National Bank
Notes and coins
Central Balance Sheet Office
Payments and securities
Belgium wraps up successful four-year IMF constituency mandate
Local navigation: Press releases
The National Bank of Belgium
Belgium's four-year alternating mandate at the head of our IMF constituency expires at the end of this week. For the last four years, Belgium has chaired a group of 16 countries responsible for the day-to-day administration of the International Monetary Fund. On 31 October, Belgium will hand over this important coordinating role to the Netherlands.
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) was established in 1944 with the objective of stimulating balanced economic growth and high employment, on the one hand, and providing financial assistance to countries facing temporary balance of payments problems, on the other hand. Belgium was one of the founding members of the IMF and currently holds 1.35 % of its capital. Our country is thus ranked 18th among the 190 members of the IMF. Thanks to this position, alternating every four years with the Netherlands, it co-chairs a constituency of countries and represents them in the IMF Executive Board. Besides Belgium and the Netherlands, this constituency is made up of Andorra, Armenia, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Georgia, Israel, Luxembourg, Moldova, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Romania and Ukraine. Belgium's mandate comes to an end on 31 October, and the Netherlands will then take over the reins. In Washington, the constituency is managed by an Executive Director. The mandate of Executive Director Anthony De Lannoy, an NBB staff member seconded to Washington, reaches its term on the same date.
This Belgian mandate end on a very positive note. Cooperation within the Belgo-Dutch constituency, which recently welcomed Andorra as a new member, has been strengthened. Solid coalitions have been formed with other constituencies and the work has been carried out in a highly constructive manner, thanks to the key strategic and coordinating role played by Executive Director Anthony De Lannoy and the support provided by the National Bank from Brussels and from his representation in Washington. "We are very grateful to Anthony for all his efforts in his capacity as co-Executive Director at the IMF and I would like to thank him wholeheartedly for his commitment", said NBB Governor Pierre Wunsch.
On 1 November, handover day between the two countries, Anthony will pass on his mandate as Executive Director to Paul Hilbers, from the Nederlandsche Bank (DNB), to briefly take up the position of alternate Executive Director, until 1 May, when Luc Dresse, from the National Bank of Belgium, will replace him in this post in Washington.
Luc Dresse is currently First Advisor to the National Bank's Economics and Research Department. He is one of our most experienced macro-economists and has played a leading part in the policy support and scientific work carried out by the Research Department. For example, he is responsible for coordinating the National Bank's Economic Review and Annual Report. More recently, he has also been working as coordinator of the ERMG (Economic Risk Management Group).
Civil liability insurance
Disclaimer and legal information