They may sound like a rare disease, a rock band, or perhaps the latest crypto scam. However, SDRs and the RST are important players in the world of international finance — despite the clunky names and acronyms.
Special Drawing Rights are a form of faux money that can translate into actual cash, while the Resilience and Sustainability Trust is a new fund for moving high-income nations’ excess SDRs into low- and middle-income countries to help fight climate change and fuel their development.
Now then, let’s break it all down and explain where the International Monetary Fund (IMF — last acronym, I swear) fits in, and why this is being discussed at international summits from Bali to Sharm el-Sheikh — and, of course, in Washington, D.C.