A digest of recent news from the EBRD
Helping banks to carry on lending
This week alone the EBRD provided circa €365 million in loans to financial institutions in six countries. The new financing for bank and microcredit firms enables them to keep lending to businesses in need of urgent liquidity as the private sector grapples with the impact of coronavirus.
In Egypt, the EBRD provided a US$ 200 million financing package to National Bank of Egypt, which also includes trade finance, and a US$ 100 million loan to Commercial International Bank.
In Serbia, financing for SMEs via local banks topped €210 million in recent weeks alone: Loans are available via the Serbian subsidiaries of Banca Intesa, Erste Bank, Eurobank, ProCredit Bank and UniCredit Bank.
Zsuzsanna Hargitai, EBRD Director for the Western Balkans, was quoted by Reuters as saying: “Greater access to finance is a lifeline for many small businesses in Serbia as they face a drop in sales and cash-flow, and experience supply chain disruption.”
In Uzbekistan, the EBRD provided a US$ 40 million loan to UzPromstroybank (UzPSB) for on-lending to the private sector.
In Kazakhstan, with an EBRD loan in Kazakh tenge equivalent to up to US$ 40 million the leading microfinance lender KMF will help local firms to continue their business activity and preserve jobs.
In Armenia, private companies can access financing from ACBA-Credit Agricole which has received a US$ 20 million loan.
Learn more here and in a Reuters story
In Bosnia and Herzegovina, the EBRD supported the mirofinance institutions Partner Mikrokreditna Fondacija Tuzla and Mikrofin d.o.o. Banja Luka, each with a €5 million loan for on-lending to small enterprises.
Meanwhile, the Bank also a €30 million loan for the upgrade of roads in the capital city Sarajevo and the surrounding Sarajevo Canton.
In Montenegro, SMEs will benefit from loans offered by Hipotekarna Banka thanks to a €5 million loan from the EBRD.
Turkish businesses receive EBRD support
Turkish companies have applied for more than
a fifth of the funding set aside by the EBRD to help businesses cope with the fallout from the coronavirus pandemic, Bloomberg News reported. Financial institutions have been the biggest beneficiary of the €944 million allocated to Turkish firms so far this year, Arvid Tuerkner, Managing Director for Turkey told the news agency.
A decade of TurSEFF
As part of EU Sustainable Energy Week, the EBRD and the EU marked 10 years of joint investment in clean energy in Turkey. €650 million in EBRD loans have been channelled through nine Turkish financial institutions to support more than 1,600 energy efficiency and renewable energy projects to date. EU grants made loans more affordable and facilitated training of lenders.
Ukraine passes reforms with EBRD support
The Ukrainian parliament passed an EBRD supported law creating the legal and regulatory framework for derivatives – a financial instrument that helps to provide hedging opportunities.
The south Ukrainian city of Kherson signed the first-ever concession project in the country with an international consortium. A precondition for this agreement was the adoption of a concession law in 2019, the development of which the EBRD supported.
Matteo Patrone, EBRD Managing Director for Eastern Europe and the Caucasus, told local media EBRD wants continue develop capital market in Ukraine.
EBRD improves aid transparency rating
The EBRD has been ranked “good” in the 2020 Aid Transparency Index published by Publish What You Fund – The Global Campaign for Aid Transparency following significant improvement in its policies and delivery.
Gender equality part of building back better
Speaking at a seminar co-hosted with the Women20 (W20) group, EBRD President Suma Chakrabarti said that building gender equality - and private-sector oriented solutions - into the recovery from the pandemic is part of a vision for a better future, one that boosts economic resilience and sustainability for a long time to come.
Labour market support in Montenegro
The EBRD and the International Labour Organization (ILO) publishes a report on the impact of the coronavirus crisis on the labour market in Montenegro. The study sets out a list of policy recommendations aimed at creating employment and protecting vulnerable workers and enterprises.
Political scars of epidemics
The coronavirus crisis could undermine young people's trust in governments and political institutions for years to come, a study by EBRD economists shows.
Learn more here and in the Daily Mail
EBRD economists Çağatay Bircan, Zsoka Koczan and Alexander Plekhanov contributed to the new CEPR ebook "Covid-19 in Developing Economies",
Green hydrogen sustainable future fuel
As the world plans economic recovery efforts after coronavirus and trillions of dollars and euros are readied to invest in build-back-better approaches, an increasing number of scientists and policymakers are saying green hydrogen’s time has come.
Client Stories
Throughout the coronavirus pandemic, Basma, a start-up based in Lebanon offered its patients a quick remote service to equip them with invisible teeth aligners delivered to their doorstep.
Georgia’s restaurant Barbarestan, inspired by women’s rights advocate and legendary cookbook writer Barbare Jorjadze, is reopening its doors after moving to home delivery due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Newly approved projects
The Bank is processing new loans to financial institutions across its countries of operations:
- US$100 million loan to Georgia’s TBC Bank
- €10 million loan to Serbia’s Intesa Leasing Beograd
- €3 million loan to North Macedonia’s NLB Banka Skopje under Green Energy Financing Facility
The EBRD is also working to provide working capital loans to:
- €10 million to Romania’s Agricover, an agricultural firm
- US$25 million to Borusan Makina in Kazakhstan, the distributor of Caterpillar heavy machinery
- €25 million to Slovenia’s energy company Petrol
- €20 million to Stadler Minsk, a Swiss manufacturer of railway rolling stock in Belarus.
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| Date | Country | Client | Project Description | Sector | Status |
| 19 June | Serbia | Intesa Leasing d.o.o. Beograd | €10 million loan for on-lending to SMEs | Financial Institutions | Approved |
| 22 June | North Macedonia | NLB Banka Skopje | €3 million loan under Green Energy Financing Facility | Financial Institutions | Approved |
| 23 June | Georgia | TBC Bank | US$100 million loan under Covid-19 response | Financial Institutions | Signed |
| 24 June | Belarus | Stadler Minsk | €20 million working capital loan | Transport | Approved |
| 24 June | Slovenia | Petrol d.d. Ljubljana | €25 million working capital loan | Natural Resources | Approved |
| 25 June | Kazakhstan | Borusan Makina Kazakhstan | US$25 million working capital loan | Manufacturing and Services | Approved |
| 26 June | Romania | Agricover SA | €10.0 million working capital loan | Agribusiness | Approved |
