During 2009, it more than doubled its lending, from around $ billion to $ billion. The International Finance Corporation, the private-sector-lending arm of the World Bank Group, increased its loans to firms for private sector projects in Africa which reached around $ billion in 2011, or more than twice the 2007 pre-crisis level.
Structural discrepancies and differences in the standard of living could, however, lead to the economies drifting apart again after accession. It is consequently important to ensure that convergence is sustainable. This is of particular importance for price performance, to which I shall return in a moment. First, though, it must be said that sustainability is also vital to fiscal policy.