The International Monetary Fund extended its access to a $570 billion emergency lending stockpile Tuesday, citing threats to the global economy. The global lender's executive board approved use of the reserves, called the New Arrangements to Borrow, for the next six months. It was the seventh straight time the IMF board authorized use of the money, which was expanded during the global financial crisis. The emergency stockpile is comprised of loans from more than three dozen of the world's largest economies. The IMF can only make those resources available if the fund's managing director believes the lender needs more resources on hand for potential bailouts. The IMF chief must show the board the special resources may be needed "to forestall or cope with an impairment of the international monetary system or to deal with an exceptional situation that poses a threat to the stability of that system," according to IMF guidelines. Without the emergency reserves, the fund would still have around $170 billion of unused lending capacity to extend to member countries facing a crisis. With the NAB, it has around $420 billion it can loan. The fund has to keep some cash on hand to protect against theoretical losses on loans.
