Gezamelijk plan EIB, EBRD en de Wereldbank om Oost Europese banken financieel tegemoet te komen met een lening van €24.5 miljard (en)
Three large multilateral banks announced a joint initiative on Friday (27 February) to lend up to €24.5 billion to central and eastern European banks currently struggling in the global credit shortage.
The European Investment Bank (EIB), the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD and the World Bank scheme is designed to enable eastern banks to restart lending to the real economy and in particular to small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in the region.
"This is a time for Europe to come together to ensure that the achievements of the last 20 years are not lost because of an economic crisis that is rapidly turning into a human crisis," said World Bank president Robert Zoellick in a statement.
Under the plan, the World Bank will provide support of about €7.5 billion in funds. The EBRD will provide up to €6 billion for the financial sector over the next two years in the form of loans to banks and directly to SMEs. It will also provide capital to ensure trade transactions can be carried out effectively.
For its part, the EIB will supply some €11 billion in SME lending facilities in central, eastern, and southern Europe, of which €5.7 billion is already available for quick disbursement, the bank says.
Much of financial sector in eastern Europe is controlled by western European parent banks. In particular, Austrian and Swedish banks have poured money into the region in recent years, helping to fuel booming growth.
The heads of the three multilateral lenders hope their new initiative will encourage parent banks to support their eastern subsidiaries and halt the flow of capital westwards seen in recent months.
The new loans would be available not only for countries in the European Union but also most of the former Soviet Union and Turkey. Oil and gas-rich Russia is considered to be able to support itself.
Region hungry for more
Hungarian prime minister Ferenc Gyurcsany i said on Thursday however that eastern European economies need €180 billion in loans to see out the current crisis.
He asked the EU to set up what he called a "Stabilisation and Integration Programme" to help east European economies, banks and companies.
"The EU must take a lead role. This package can surely stop the quick depreciation of national currencies, which is the biggest risk in the region right now," he said in Budapest.
The broad-reaching programme would include short-term financing for national governments, plans to help private companies restructure their debt obligations and funds to recapitalise banks in the region.
He is expected to present the plan to EU leaders meeting for an extraordinary summit in Brussels this Sunday.