The Enlarged Global Financial Safety Net

The institutions and instruments of the Global Financial Safety Net (GFSN) represent the part of the global financial architecture that is responsible for providing an anti‐crisis and stabilization support to the countries in need. We argue that the standard understanding of the GFSN as a system consisting of four layers – national reserves, bilateral swaps, regional financing arrangements and the IMF – demands rethinking. We suggest the concept of an enlarged GFSN, namely its expansion by two additional elements – multilateral development banks and bilateral financial support. Both elements of the international financial architecture are partly involved in providing an anti‐crisis and macroeconomic stabilization support at concessional terms. We demonstrate how the enlarged GFSN functions, including at the time of the COVID‐19 crisis.