The Executive Board of the International Monetary Fund has approved the Flexible Credit Line for Poland. In a special communique the Fund stressed that the credit of $20 billion is of preventive character and as of now Poland is not planning to use the allocated funds.
The Flexible Credit Line (FCL) was established on 24 March along with a wider package of International Monetary Fund reforms. Unlike the standard loans at the fund, which provide assistance to trouble-stricken countries on condition they implement certain economic reforms, the FCL is only available to states whose finances are considered to be in good order but who could benefit from further access to financing.
Poland applied to gain access to the fund in mid-April. The main aim of the move was to increase the National Bank reserves and thus help lower the cost of servicing the country's foreign debt.
The special credit line had only been offered to a limited number of countries and Poland is the second country to gain access it after Mexico which made the move a few days earlier. (di)