OTHER NEWS - April 12, 1995

$6.8-Billion Loan for Russia OKd: The International Monetary Fund approved the loan to help Russia reform and revive its battered economy. “In view of the generally disappointing performance in 1994, which followed the limited progress in 1993 and 1992, the Russian authorities are aiming at decisive progress in stabilization and structural reform in 1995 to set the stage for sustained recovery,” the agency said. The 12-month standby loan is the IMF’s second-largest ever. It is dwarfed only by the $17.8-billion credit the agency approved in February for Mexico. The loan will back up a tough economic reform program aimed at bringing monthly inflation in Russia down to 1% in the second half of the year by a major tightening of monetary policy and a cut in the fiscal deficit.