A group of banks affirmed a Mexico loan plan.

The committee of commercial banks overseeing bank credit negotiations with Mexico agreed to provide a third of a $1.6-billion short-term loan to the Mexican government. The “bridge loan” is intended to keep Mexico from depleting its foreign reserves until it begins receiving loans under a medium-term package negotiated with the International Monetary Fund. Mexico, which has foreign debts of about $96.6 billion, must repay the banks’ portion of the bridge loan when it receives the first payment under the $12-billion IMF package. Another one-third of the bridge loan is to be provided by the United States, with the rest coming from Japan and central banks in Europe and Latin America.