LONDON (Reuters) – The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) said on Thursday it would boost its support package by 3 billion euros to help stricken companies and councils across its region mitigate the economic hit from the coronavirus.
The EBRD had announced a 1 billion euro support package in March including measures providing emergency liquidity, working capital and trade finance as well as restructuring to its existing clients affected by the crisis.
Furthermore, the EBRD would now also make funds available with liquidity lines to municipalities to help keep essential public services running, said EBRD President Suma Chakrabarti.
“Some of these economies have already been hit by lower commodity prices, now they are being hit by the measures to contain the virus, which means value chains have been disrupted, tourism has collapsed,” told Reuters. “A number of them are very dependend on remittances as well, which have also collapsed.”
Majority owned by G7 top economic powers, the EBRD invests in 38 economies including central and eastern Europe as well as Egypt, Tunisia and Morocco in Africa.
(Reporting by Karin Strohecker; editing by Sujata Rao)
