APRIL 17, 2015 philosophyofmetrics.com
By JC Collins
During a live question and answer session at the Spring Meetings of the International Monetary Fund and World Bank, Managing Director Christine Lagarde once again reiterated that China has formally requested the inclusion of the renminbi currency in the SDR basket composition. She also stated that Chinese efforts towards economic reforms, such as opening up capital accounts, has been supporting the case for the yuan.
The expansion of the membership list of the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank and the growing framework of the Eurasian Development Bank, with probable regional currencies, is creating additional leverage on both America and the IMF to ensure that quota and governance reforms are implemented and that the yuan is included in the upcoming SDR review.
The momentum which has built up internationally surrounding the multilateral mandates can no longer be ignored by the American administration. The yuan will only require a 70% vote to be included in the SDR composition. The US veto falls short of this which means that it is all but certain that the renminbi will be added to the global reserve basket.
The emergence of the BRICS Development Bank and Reserve Fund, along with both the AIIB and Eurasian Development Bank, including a large membership of American allies, has created a political situation for both Democrats and Republicans which can no longer be ignored or postponed.
All of these institutions and their representatives have officially stated that they do not wish to create a new monetary system outside of the existing IMF and World Bank model, but wish to enhance and expand what they feel has been a USD dominated framework to more fairly represent the economic realities of a multilateral world.
Whether or not America agrees with the multilateral transition and reforms to the IMF no longer matters. The leverage and Plan B framework has been established and is fully capable of bypassing any resistance and gaming by the United States. Further inability by the US on enacting the required legislation to support the transition will only hurt their political and economic interests internationally.
The level of volatility and instability which Americans will experience moving forward from this point will largely depend on the responses and collaboration of their government. But the average citizen will have opportunities available to help themselves transition through this period. When the international institutions and central banks have been building a method leveraging the SDR as a means to provide monetary stability, we have been working on a method by which private citizens can also leverage this non-private asset towards the goal of wealth retention and financial stability.
Stay tuned for further announcements towards the end of April. – JC