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IMF offers new precautionary credit line
Croatian Times
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has extended Croatia a three billion dollars precautionary credit line that could double in a year.
The international lending institution has loosened its loan criteria for developing countries in an attempt to insulate these states from potentially turbulent market changes, the Managing Director Dominique Strauss-Kahn said.
The IMF has divided the potential borrowers of the new precautionary credits into two groups. The first group A could receive two-year loans without additional negotiations or changes to its politics. The other group, B, would have to fulfil the usual IMF criteria.
For Croatia, which is likely to find itself in this latter group, that would mean
decreasing the deficit and public debt, moves that would involve salary and pension cuts.
The former IMF economic counselor Kenneth Rogoff said earlier this week that Europe has not seen the worst yet. He expects Greece to go bankrupt in two years time and that some Eastern European states could suffer the same fate. He also foresees another Eurozone country (Portugal, Spain or Ireland) seeking out IMF help.
"Countries in Eastern Europe are not in an immediate dangers as long as the IMF is ready to jump in and help, but that will not last forever," Rogoff warned.
Faculty of Economics lecturer Rijeka Sasa Drezgic believes that the reason for the new line of credits is the IMF’s desire to increase its role in states that do not want an arrangement with the institution because of restrictions such arrangements often involve.
But some analysts say the Croatian government will, sooner or later, have to call in the IMF. Hypo Bank analyst Hrvoje Stojic says that it is not good for those arrangements to be then be stigmatized, the daily Vecernji List reports.
Tag cloud Rogoff loan analysts forever immediate Portugal foresees Europe Economics Faculty lecturer Croatia dangers International precautionary credit arrangement institution states criteria
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