On October 2, 1961, it was announced that the International Monetary Fund had entered into a stand-by arrangement with the government of Haiti under which that government could draw the equivalent of $6 million from the Fund during the following twelve months. The arrangement with the Fund was considered as a useful supplement to the country's reserves to assist the government in maintaining the convertibility of its currency. The Haitian government had not drawn on its previous stand-by arrangement with the Fund, which had expired on September 30, 1961; in earlier years it had drawn $5.4 million, of which $2.6 million had already been repaid.