Anglo-American loan

The Anglo-American Loan Agreement was a loan made to the United Kingdom by the United States on 15 July 1946, enabling its economy after the Second World War to keep afloat.^[1] The loan was negotiated by British economist John Maynard Keynes and American diplomat William L. Clayton. Problems arose on the American side, with many in Congress reluctant, and with sharp differences between the treasury and state departments. The loan was for US$3.75 billion (equivalent to $58.59 billion in 2023) at a low 2% interest rate; Canada loaned an additional US$1.9 billion (equivalent to $29.69 billion in 2023). The British economy in 1947 was hurt by a provision that called for convertibility into dollars of the wartime sterling balances the British had borrowed from India and others, but by 1948, the Marshall Plan included financial support that was not expected to be repaid. The entire loan was paid off in 2006, after it was extended six years.