In 1991 it had 151 members. Unlike the World Bank , to which it is closely allied, the IMF is not a development agency. Its principal aims are to encourage international monetary cooperation and the expansion of international trade, to stabilize exchange rates, and to eliminate foreign-exchange restrictions.
Member states subscribe funds in accordance with their wealth.
The Fund offers its members an orderly system for settling financial transactions among themselves. The Macmillan Encyclopedia 2001 2. The Penguin Business Dictionary 3. Oxford University Press 4. Oxford Paperback Encyclopedia 5.