World Bank Lending Poland $3.75 Billion For Reforms.

"The World Bank is lending Poland a total of $3.75 billion, in three tranches, to help the country finance its structural reforms, the bank said in a statement Monday. Last December, the World Bank and Poland signed an agreement on the first tranche of the Development Policy Loan, and the parties are in talks on details for tranches two and three, said World Bank spokeswoman Anna Kowalczyk. 'We expect to pay out the second tranche this year,' she added...." [Dow Jones/Factiva]

Polish News Bulletin adds that "...during his visit to Warsaw, World Bank President Robert Zoellick...met with Polish central bank (NBP) head Slawomir Skrzypek and Finance Minister Jacek Rostowski. 'We discussed loans which would not be granted directly to the government, but the government would issue guarantees for them. One particularly important such initiative would be an around $500 million loan for PKO BP, the aim of which would be to enhance the development of small and medium businesses,' he said...." [Polish News Bulletin/Factiva]

In related news, FT writes that "...Poland's external financing needs are much smaller than previously thought, according to a new study by the country's central bank .... In a report released on Monday, the central bank concluded that external debt due this year comes to $86.6 billion.... Zoellick said, 'The most recent numbers show that Poland has held up better than others, in part because of consumer spending.'..." [Financial Times/Factiva]