BANKING & FINANCE - July 23, 1996

IMF Puts Loan to Russia on Hold: The International Monetary Fund delayed this month’s installment of its $10-billion loan to Russia because of concerns that the government may have overshot its budget targets, a source said. The move comes less than a month after the reelection victory of President Boris N. Yeltsin, who was favored over his Communist opponent by the Western governments that strongly influence IMF policy. In the months before the election, some analysts said the IMF looked the other way as Yeltsin’s government made spending promises and took other actions that risked a violation of the conditions of the loan program. An IMF spokesman declined to comment on the status of the loan program with Russia or any possible renegotiations.