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42 I EBRD 2022 bne June 2022
President of the EBRD Odile Renaud-Basso says the situation in Ukraine remains fluid but business is starting to restart. Photo: wiki
President says it is supporting wartime commerce in Ukraine and planning for the future
However, with the Russian forces' withdrawal from around Kyiv and its increasing focus on the Donbas, the rest of the country is beginning to return to normal with the support of the EBRD.
“From what we have seen we have been very impressed with the resilience of the economy in Ukraine and the institutions. I met with the central bank and the finance minister and they were explaining that the banking sector is functioning. Most of the bank branches are open and the banks can provide financing and people are depositing their money. There were no bank runs. So the system is really functioning,” Renaud-Basso said. “And we see the same in public companies.
We have signed a contract with [power company] Ukrenergo and the company is functioning and delivering electricity. And the sowing campaign is going on with the support of the government.”
Nevertheless, all Ukraine’s companies are under pressure and Renaud-Basso reported that many of the bank’s clients have asked for payments
to be postponed or rescheduled, which the bank has been doing.
“There was a big shock at the beginning of the war with a bit of a standstill, but things are now coming back. One of
the major challenges, and especially
for the agri-businesses, is the question of logistics. The ports were blocked and it was a very important way to export grains and this remains a huge challenge, but we have seen a lot of SMEs and companies from different sectors developing different ways to alternative ways [to export] through Poland and other countries.”
The governors have decided to support Ukraine in both the short and long- term and we are “already beginning to think about reconstruction whenever it becomes possible”, Renaud-
Basso said. During the controversial governor’s meeting on May 11 the donors committed to supplying an additional amount “towards €1bn” of funds to support Ukraine.
“We will deploy this money alongside our own resources to support
Ben Aris in Marrakech
The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) has switched its focus and is pouring help into Ukraine as it struggles to cope during the war with Russia, but thought is already turning to the eventual reconstruction of the country when peace finally returns,
the president of the development
bank Odile Renaud-Basso said at a press conference on the last day of
its annual meeting on May 12.
“We are meeting of course as the
world was trying to recover from the COVID pandemic and the world is now confronted with the war in Ukraine, which alongside major loss of life, major destruction, is bringing additional and fresh economic strain, threatening energy and food security,” Renaud-Basso said. “There will be some impact from this war beyond the immediate region
to all our countries of operation...
The EBRD will use all of its resources
to support all these countries.”
The war in Ukraine has been at the heart of all the discussions amongst
www.bne.eu
the delegates that gathered in Marrakech in Morocco from the
73 member countries, as the wide economic effects spill out to affect counties throughout Emerging Europe, Eurasia and down into Africa.
Renaud-Basso said that the EBRD was very fast to react to the news of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine on February 24 and protested “within hours” of the first tanks crossing the border. Both Russia and Belarus were swiftly cut off from using any of the EBRD resources.
“Since the assault on Ukraine in
the early hours of February 24 the bank has moved swiftly. As the
biggest international investor in the country, within hours of the attack we condemned Russia for starting the war and stated our unwavering support
for Ukraine,” said Renaud-Basso.
The EBRD very quickly made available a €2bn package of support for Ukraine and other countries in the region to deal with the refugee crisis amongst other measures.