AFP, Washington :
The Bank of France agreed to lend an additional $3 billion to the International Monetary Fund’s anti-poverty fund, the IMF announced Wednesday.
The new loan, the sixth by France, makes the country among the largest contributors to the Poverty Reduction and Growth Trust, which provides very low-cost funds to the IMF’s poorest members. Most of the recipients are African nations.
IMF Managing Director Christine Lagarde, a French former finance minister, launched a fundraising drive over two years ago to raise $15 billion for the fund, and surpassed that goal.
Demand for the zero-interest loans increased in recent years in the wake of the financial crisis, and amid depressed prices for key commodity exports many of the countries rely on, according to the IMF.
The Bank of France agreed to lend an additional $3 billion to the International Monetary Fund’s anti-poverty fund, the IMF announced Wednesday.
The new loan, the sixth by France, makes the country among the largest contributors to the Poverty Reduction and Growth Trust, which provides very low-cost funds to the IMF’s poorest members. Most of the recipients are African nations.
IMF Managing Director Christine Lagarde, a French former finance minister, launched a fundraising drive over two years ago to raise $15 billion for the fund, and surpassed that goal.
Demand for the zero-interest loans increased in recent years in the wake of the financial crisis, and amid depressed prices for key commodity exports many of the countries rely on, according to the IMF.
