The pending International Monetary Fund review of special drawing rights is much more than a rejigging of a currency basket, or a decision on whether or not the Chinese renminbi will be included. It is about whether the IMF is willing to take serious steps towards the transformation of the international monetary system. It will matter greatly for the interplay of currencies and for financial markets.

The SDR is an international reserve asset and it gives countries the right to exchange SDRs for freely usable currencies to supplement their international reserve holdings. The SDR is denominated as a basket of four currencies, the dollar, euro, pound and yen.

When the SDR was launched in the 1970s it comprised 16 currencies, aiming for inclusiveness. Since the 1980s it has been about exclusiveness and being a close substitute for the main international reserve assets. The aim was nothing less than to rival the dollar. It flopped.