OREANDA-NEWS. The level of credit expansion will be one of the key performance benchmarks (as opposed to performance indictors) for the Eurasian Economic Community (EurAsEC) to provide Belarus with the next tranches of the stand-by loan.

Chief of the EurAsEC Economic Policy Department Alisher Mirzoyev made a statement to this effect with reference to a letter from the National Bank of Belarus, in which they suggest moving credit expiation to the list of performance benchmarks analyzed on a monthly basis.

Belarus and the EurAsEC Financial Bailout Fund have agreed that putting a cap on credit expansion is a key factor of stabilization, Mirzoyev informed.

The parties will decide on the level of credit expansion for 2013 after Belarus has fulfilled the conditions of the fifth tranche.

Belarus’ credit expansion exceeded twofold the maximum level set for 2012. “Excessive credit expansion creates inflationary pressure and upsets the payment balance,” the expert said.

The parties have already agreed on the maximum level of funds (USD 698.5 million) to be used in 2013 to finance government programmes.

Hit by a financial crisis in 2011, Minsk agreed on a USD 3 billion stabilization loan from EurAsEC’s fund in several tranches from 2011 to 2013. The fund has already provided one USD 800 million and three USD 440 million tranches of the bailout to the country.