The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has opened a $20.43-billion flexible credit line for Poland. This is the second credit line the IMF has offered the country. The first one expired May 5.

The Polish government has never used the funds at its disposal via the credit line, seeing it as an insurance policy, and does not plan to draw on the new credit line either. Finance Minister Jacek Rostowski said it was worth having such a safety valve at a time when the global and European economies were struggling with financial crisis. He also said that this time the government would cover the cost of access to the line. The cost, $60 million a year, had previously been covered by the central bank. In Rostowski’s view, this is not much in exchange for a guarantee of a stable zloty exchange rate.