ST. GEORGE’S, GRENADA, Friday, September 24, 2010: An IMF team is currently in Grenada conducting the 1st (first) review of the Extended Credit Facility (ECF) which was entered into on April 2nd, 2010. The ECF is a three-year arrangement that has replaced the Poverty Reduction and Growth Facility (PRGF) in Grenada. The government’s key objectives in this new program are: ensuring fiscal and debt sustainability by placing the debt-to-GDP ratio on a firm downward track; reducing vulnerabilities in the financial system and strengthening the supervision of the non-bank financial sector; generating high and sustainable growth through structural reforms that will encourage private sector-led growth; and reducing poverty by creating more effective social safety nets. The IMF team is headed by Ms. Nita Thacker of the IMF’s Western Hemisphere Department. While in Grenada the team will hold discussions with various stakeholders in the public and private sectors, including: the Minister of Finance and his team; other Government Ministers and senior public servants; the Leader of Her Majesty’s Opposition; representatives from the Grenada Authority for the Regulation of Financial Institutions (GARFIN); the Banker’s Association; the Grenada Chamber of Industry of Commerce (GCIC); the Labour Unions; and the like. The mission is scheduled to end on Tuesday September 28th, 2010 with a press conference at the Ministry of Finance’s Conference Room. From The Ministry of Finance