The board of directors of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) approved the last tranche of SDR 26 million under the two-year stand-by agreement with Bulgaria. The deadline of the agreement was extended from February 26 to March 15. The country has failed to meet three of the IMF criteria as on the end of 2003, the ones on the republican budget deficit, curb the salaries in 60 state enterprises and reduce tax payment arrears. Bulgaria can introduce the euro as its national currency even earlier than the ten countries to be admitted to the EU this year, said James Roaf, resident representative of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to Bulgaria, at the "Banks, Investments, Money" conference held in Plovdiv. There is a lot yet to be done, though, he added. The action of the currency board and the country's significant progress in the convergence allow for an earlier introduction of the euro. Bulgaria actually follows the path of Estonia and Lithuania, which is a good sign, said the IMF representative. he quoted the IMF president who had stated in Prague yesterday that the Eu accession of the new member-states will boost their GDP by some 25%. According to Roaf Bulgaria is a starring success story of the IMF activities in Eastern Europe. He assessed as normal a crediting activity on the part of the banks, reaching last year's 50%. but this is the upper limit, Roaf stated. Apostol Apostolov, chairing the Financial Supervision Commission said the banks in Bulgaria must consider setting up investment arms. It is the investment banks that bridge the industry with the banking sector, said Apostolov. Bank assets are up 113% as compared to 1997.