By Peter OBIORA InvestAdvocate

Lagos (INVESTADVOCATE)-The International Monetary Fund (IMF) Monday approved US$2.29 billion (about €1.72 billion) Extended Fund Facility (EFF) arrangement for Greece the economically troubled Euro Zone nation.

This is coming on the heels of the completion of the IMF’s Executive Board fourth review of Greece’s performance under an economic program supported by an EFF arrangement.

According to the IMF, the completion of this review enables the disbursement of SDR 1.51 billion (about €1.72 billion, or US$2.29 billion), which would bring total disbursements under the arrangement to SDR 7.21 billion (about €8.24 billion, or US$10.94 billion).

The Fund said the EFF arrangement, which was approved on March 15, 2012 is part of a joint package of financing with euro area member states amounting to about €173 billion over four years. “It entails exceptional access to IMF resources equivalent to about 2,159 percent of Greece’s quota,” the IMF said.