Turkey to Receive $10 Billion in IMF Credits

The International Monetary Fund announced a $10-billion credit package for Turkey in an effort to stem a financial crisis that has seriously undermined the nation’s economy and threatened to spread to other emerging markets. The package includes $7.5 billion in emergency credits and nearly $3 billion already available to Turkey under previous IMF agreements, according to IMF officials. Turkey would be eligible to receive the first credits of $2.8 billion on Dec. 21, with the remainder offered in installments next year. The IMF deal came with stringent demands that Turkey speed privatization of its telephone, airline and power services--which have been entangled in political bickering--and take stronger measures to shore up its scandal-plagued banking system. International financial analysts said the IMF action is critical to preventing a meltdown of Turkey’s precarious economy.