A 20 billion dollar flexible credit line has been approved for Poland by the IMF.

Poland has now become the second country to take advantage of the new facility after Mexico.

"The executive board considered that a precautionary line of credit under the Flexible Credit Line for Poland would play an important role in supporting the [Polish] authorities' policy response, ”said John Lipsky, head of the IMF.

The IMF’s new facility is only available for nations with sound public finances, and differs from the old credits that the world body used to give to failing economies which had conditional strings attached on public spending and privatisation.

Finance Minister Jacek Rostowski said last month when it was announced that Poland would be applying for the credit that the loan would help protect the Polish economy from the global finance crisis. (pg)