The International Monetary Fund announced Wednesday that its executive board approved a loan of 2.1 billion dollars for Iceland, which has been reeling from a financial crisis.

The two-year loan, accompanied by quarterly reviews, was designed `to support the country`s program to restore confidence and stabilize the economy,` the IMF said in a statement.

It was the first time a country in Western Europe had secured a loan from the IMF since Britain in 1976.