Washington D.C. – The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has approved the immediate disbursement of €84 million to Cyprus following the fourth review of Cyprus’ bailout programme, commending the government for the progress so far.

IMF Managing Director, Christine Lagarde, praised the Cyprus authorities for their achievements but at the same time stressed the pressing need to continue implementation of the budget both “cautiously and faithfully.”

“The Cypriot authorities are to be commended for their achievements during the first year of their economic programme,” she said.

“They recapitalised and restructured the financial sector, removed domestic payment restrictions, implemented an ambitious fiscal consolidation, and initiated important structural reforms. As a result, macroeconomic and fiscal outturns have been better than expected, and Cyprus recently re-accessed international capital markets,” Lagarde explained.

Still, full and timely implementation of the adjustment policy will be critical to the overall programme’s success, she underlined.

Lagarde also referred to the high level of non-performing loans (NPLs), crediting them as hindering the provision of credit and the resumption of growth.