The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has sanctioned a €1 billion precautionary loan for Serbia, Bloomberg reports. The new program allocates €1 billion to protect the country from external shocks while bolstering fiscal policies and raising investor confidence. Serbia revised its 2011 budget to meet the program eligibility criteria, capping the year’s fiscal deficit target at 4.5 percent of economic output and placing a limit on cash for refunding property seized by Communists. The IMF has already changed its 2011 economic growth forecast for Serbia from 3 percent to 2 percent and from 4.5 percent to 3 percent in 2012.

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