G10 stands for “The Group of Ten”, and is a group 11 industrial countries that meet on an annual basis to discuss economic, monetary and financial matters.
The eleven countries are Belgium, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the Netherlands, Sweden, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, and the United States.
The Ministers of Finance and Central Bank Governors of the Group of Ten usually meet once a year in connection with the autumn meetings of the Interim Committee of the International Monetary Fund.
The Governors of the Group of Ten normally meet bi-monthly at the Bank for International Settlements.
The Deputies of the Group of Ten meet as needed, but usually between two and four times a year. Ad hoc committees and working parties of the Group of Ten are set up as needed.
Officially, the Group of Ten (G10) refers to the group of countries that have agreed to participate in the General Arrangements to Borrow (GAB).
This is a borrowing arrangement between member countries that can be used if the International Monetary Fund cannot fully fund or service a member country’s borrowing needs.
The GAB was established in 1962, when the governments of eight IMF members—Belgium, Canada, France, Italy, Japan, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, and the United States—and the central banks of two others, Germany and Sweden, agreed to make resources available to the IMF for drawings by participants and, under certain circumstances, for drawings by nonparticipants.
The G10 was strengthened in 1964 by the association of Switzerland, then a nonmember of the IMF, expanding its membership to 11, but the name of the G10 remained the same.
Following its inception, the G10 broadened its engagement with the Fund, including issuing reports that culminated in the creation of the Special Drawing Right (SDR) in 1969. T
he G10 was also the forum for discussions that led to the December 1971 Smithsonian Agreement following the collapse of the Bretton Woods system.
The following international organizations are official observers of the activities of the G10: the Bank for International Settlements (BIS), the European Commission, the IMF, and the OECD.