Treasury's Yellen says funding bill allows lending of $21 billion to IMF trust

Watch onWASHINGTON - A $1.2 trillion government funding bill passed by Congress will allow the U.S. to lend up to $21 billion to an International Monetary Fund trust to help the world’s poorest countries, U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said on Saturday.

The PRGT is the IMF's main vehicle for providing zero-interest loans to low-income countries to support their economic programs and help leverage additional financing from donors, development institutions, and the private sector. The IMF expects demand for PRGT lending to reach nearly $40 billion this year, more than four times the historical average.

Kevin Gallagher, director of Boston University's Global Development Policy Center, said the long-delayed U.S. funding came"just in nick of time, given exorbitant interest rates in poorer countries, especially in Africa," that have hit low-income countries hard, compounding already high debt burdens.

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