The Bretton Woods Agreement, established in July 1944, created a post-World War II international monetary and financial framework. Its core aims were global economic stability and fostering full employment. It instituted a fixed exchange rate system where member currencies were pegged to the US dollar, which was then convertible to gold at a set price. This system also led to the formation of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to manage trade imbalances and the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD), or World Bank, to fund post-war recovery efforts. This framework governed international finance for decades.