Special drawing rights (SDRs) (F.12)
5.33 Definition:
The sub-category special drawing rights (SDRs) (F.12) consists of all transactions in SDRs (AF.12) that is international reserve assets created by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and allocated to its members to supplement existing reserve assets.
5.34
SDRs are not considered liabilities of the IMF, and IMF members to whom SDRs
are allocated do not have an actual (unconditional) liability to repay their
SDRs allocations. SDRs are held exclusively by official holders, which are
normally central banks, and are transferable among participants in the IMF's Special Drawing Rights Department and other holders designated by the IMF
(other central banks and certain international agencies). SDRs represent each
holder's assured and unconditional right to obtain other reserve assets, especially
foreign exchange.
5.35
Changes in SDRs hold by a monetary authority can arise through transactions in
SDRs involving SDR payments to or receipts from the IMF, other participants in
the IMF's Special Drawing Rights Department, or other holders. They are recorded in
the financial accounts of the monetary authorities and the rest of the world,
respectively. Changes in SDRs can also arise from changes in the value of SDRs to
be recorded in the revaluation account, or from allocations and cancellations
of SDRs to be recorded in the other changes in the volume of assets account (see
paragraph