Central Bank Governor Jose Lois Malkun announced late Friday that the Dominican government had paid US$74 million to foreign creditors. The sum included the interest payment due on the US$600-million dollar sovereign bond emission, whose belated payment caused several credit assessment institutions to lower their ratings on Dominican Republic bonds and banks to their lowest levels in many years. The Listin Diario reports that Lois Malkun said that the details of the definitive agreement with the IMF would be announced on 12 February. Lois Malkun added that once the details of the IMF agreement are known, discussions would begin to reschedule the debt with the Paris Club. This debt ascends to between US$300 and US$400 million, and its renegotiation would avoid going into the exchange market to make a payment. During his comments to the press, Lois Malkun said that the Central Bank would hire an external auditor and review the last ten or twelve years. Finally, the Central Bank chief executive revealed that the World Bank directors would look at a US$100-million loan to support various programs with the IMF and for use in the electricity sector. The World Bank apparently wanted the loan to be negotiated later on this year, but have agreed to approve it now, in order to avoid a collapse of the electricity system.