STUDY T HE I M F P R O G RA MME I N EG Y PT: BAILOUT FOR EGYPT OR THE IMF? Kristina Rehbein May 2023 Existing vulnerabilities in Egypt were exacerbated by the economic effects of the Russian aggression in Ukraine. Together with other reasons, a fourth loan programme of the IMF was approved for Egypt in December 2022. The former three IMF loan programmes did not lead to improved debt sustainability, but rather facilitated a heavy borrowing spree ­with the IMF becoming a lender of“first resort”. Instead of sustainably addressing macroeconomic vulnerabilities, the new programme seems to serve the purpose of bailing out the IMF.