IMF approves six month extension of the stand arrangement with Kenya

The Executive Board of the International Monetary Fund has approved Kenyan authorities’ request for a 6-month extension of the country’s Stand-By Arrangement to allow additional time to complete the outstanding reviews. The reviews are expected to be completed by September 2018. Completion of the reviews will enable the Kenyan authorities to have access to funds available under the precautionary SBA.
The SBA was approved on March 14, 2016 for 24 months. Upon the approval of the arrangement, The Kenyan authorities had indicated that they would continue to treat both arrangements as precautionary, and did not intend to draw on the new SBA and SCF arrangements unless exogenous shocks lead to an actual balance of payments need.
The recent Board’s decision was taken without a formal Board discussion. In certain instances, the Executive Board takes some decisions without a meeting when it is agreed by its members that a proposal can be considered without convening formal discussions
In support of this request, the authorities have committed to policies that will enable them to achieve the program objectives, including reducing the fiscal deficit and substantially modifying interest controls.
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