1 March 1947: The International Monetary Fund goes to work

The International Monetary Fund , born out of the Bretton Woods conference during the last months of the Second World War, began operations on this day in 1947.

The International Monetary Fund, or IMF, was born out of the need to have a more open and better regulated financial world after the end of the Second World War. It was widely acknowledged that the economic rivalries and protectionism resulting from the Great Depression had not helped matters in the run-up to the outbreak of war.

With the Allies driving their way through Europe in the summer of 1944, 730 delegates from 44 countries gathered in Bretton Woods, New Hampshire, to discuss how best to go about achieving their aims. The following December, the IMF was born when 29 countries ratified its charter.

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Chris Carter
Wealth Editor, MoneyWeek

Chris Carter spent three glorious years reading English literature on the beautiful Welsh coast at Aberystwyth University. Graduating in 2005, he left for the University of York to specialise in Renaissance literature for his MA, before returning to his native Twickenham, in southwest London. He joined a Richmond-based recruitment company, where he worked with several clients, including the Queen’s bank, Coutts, as well as the super luxury, Dorchester-owned Coworth Park country house hotel, near Ascot in Berkshire.

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