IMF approves $3.96 billion for Greece

The International Monetary Fund on Monday approved the release of 2.2 billion euros ($3.96 billion) for Greece under the joint IMF-European Union rescue program for the country.The money, which will be released immediately to Athens, is part of a new 8.0 billion euro installment of funds from the program, the release of which was conditioned on Athens adhering to a strict austerity plan.Last week EU finance ministers said they were also set to unlock the 5.8=billion-euro EU share of the loan tranche, which has been held back since since August because of Athenss delays in implementing reforms.In November a new Greek government was formed under Prime Minister Lucas Papademos, a former European Central Bank deputy chief, in a coalition effort to rescue the countrys finances and save it from looming bankruptcy.The IMF loan approval came after its executive board completed a review on Monday of Greeces economic performance under the 110-billion-euro IMF-EU bailout loan set last year.The IMF is contributing 30 billion euros of that.