IMF happy with Moldova's reforms, releases $21.5 mln loan

The International Monetary Fund will make available $21.5 million to Moldova, noting financial reforms and higher than expected economic growth in the former Soviet Republic.

The IMF said in a statement late Monday that "growth has returned, and... authorities remain committed to sound economic management."

The fund said the economy was expected to grow by 4.5 percent this year, adding "efforts to rehabilitate the financial system continue and structural reforms are advancing."

In November, the IMF approved a 3-year, $178.7 million loan to support the country's financial and economic reforms and made $36 million available immediately to the impoverished East European nation.

The IMF and European Union had earlier frozen aid to Moldova after $1 billion went missing from three Moldovan banks in 2014, plunging the country into turmoil.