Pedestrians walk at the main Ledras shopping street in central capital Nicosia, Monday, March 7, 2016. Cyprus is set to formally conclude a 10 billion euro rescue program at the end of March. The Eurozone member country earned plaudits from creditors for sticking to the terms of the bailout agreement they said was the primary reason that authorities managed to turn the economy around relatively quickly. (AP Photo/Petros Karadjias)
The Associated Press
NICOSIA, Cyprus (AP) - The head of the International Monetary Fund says Cyprus has ended the IMF leg of a three-year rescue program 10 weeks ahead of schedule.
Christine Lagarde on Monday hailed Cyprus for delivering "an impressive turnaround of the economy" in the past three years. She said the Cypriot economy grew again last year, the banking system is on a more solid footing, spending is in check and public debt is shrinking.
But the IMF chief said Cyprus needs to stick to reforms in light of continued volatility in international markets.
Cyprus received 1 billion euros from the IMF and another 9 billion euros from its Eurozone partners in March 2013 in a rescue deal that forced a grab of uninsured savings in its two largest banks and shuttered the smaller lender.
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This story has been corrected to say program concluded 10 weeks ahead of schedule instead of one week.
Workers solder weld in the new capital municipality building in the central Nicosia, Monday, March 7, 2016. Cyprus is set to formally conclude a 10 billion euro rescue program at the end of March. The Eurozone member country earned plaudits from creditors for sticking to the terms of the bailout agreement they said was the primary reason that authorities managed to turn the economy around relatively quickly. (AP Photo/Petros Karadjias)
The Associated Press
An elderly man eats a fruit as a woman uses the ATM machine outside a branch of the Bank of Cyprus in the central capital Nicosia, on Monday, March 7, 2016. Cyprus is set to formally conclude a 10 billion euro rescue program at the end of March. The Eurozone member country earned plaudits from creditors for sticking to the terms of the bailout agreement they said was the primary reason that authorities managed to turn the economy around relatively quickly. (AP Photo/Petros Karadjias)
The Associated Press
Two men stand outside an empty closed shop in the central Nicosia, on Monday, March 7, 2016. Cyprus is set to formally conclude a 10 billion euro rescue program at the end of March. The Eurozone member country earned plaudits from creditors for sticking to the terms of the bailout agreement they said was the primary reason that authorities managed to turn the economy around relatively quickly. (AP Photo/Petros Karadjias)
The Associated Press
A worker stands near a window in the new capital municipality building in the central Nicosia, on Monday, March 7, 2016. Cyprus is set to formally conclude a 10 billion euro rescue program at the end of March. The Eurozone member country earned plaudits from creditors for sticking to the terms of the bailout agreement they said was the primary reason that authorities managed to turn the economy around relatively quickly. (AP Photo/Petros Karadjias)
The Associated Press