The Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) is a prescribed holder of the International Monetary Fund´s Special Drawing Rights (SDRs).

The IDB’s application was approved by the IMF´s Board of Executive Directors. The approval became effective on February 8.

The SDR is an international reserve asset created by the IMF to supplement the official reserves of its member countries. It is a basket of currencies comprised of the US dollar, Euro, Chinese Yuan, Japanese Yen, and the British Pound.

“The IDB welcomes the decision by the IMF,” said Vice President of Finance of the IDB Gustavo de Rosa. “Becoming a prescribed holder allows the Bank to hold and negotiate with SDRs and explore options to increase IDB’s lending capacity to contribute to sustainable development in Latin America and the Caribbean.”

The IDB said it was committed to continuing to explore options to improve capital efficiency and channeling SDRs through multilateral banks is one of the options currently under review.