EBRD Decides To Immediately Suspend Access Of Russia And Belarus To Finances And Expertise Of Bank

The Board of Governors of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) has decided to immediately suspend Russia's and Belarus' access to the bank's finances and expertise.

The bank has said this in a statement, Ukrainian News Agency reports.

"The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) is implementing its plan to suspend financial support for projects in the Russian Federation and Belarus. The EBRD's Board of Governors has approved tough action against these two countries following the invasion of Ukraine. Access by the Russian Federation and Belarus to the Bank's resources will be officially and immediately suspended upon the entry into force of the relevant decision of the Governors. This means that there can be no bank-financed projects or technical cooperation activities in any country. In addition, the EBRD reserves the right to suspend or completely stop disbursement of funds for existing projects,” the statement reads.

The EBRD has already announced that it is in the process of closing its offices in Moscow and Minsk.

The EBRD is currently focusing on providing a USD 2 billion of economic resilience and livelihood assistance package to Ukraine, as well as other countries in the region facing refugee problems from that country.

These measures are designed to help both companies and society as a whole.

Financing under the package will be provided quickly to support the liquidity of Ukrainian companies, provide a grace period for loan repayments and stimulate trade finance.

Where possible, businesses will be assisted in relocating production facilities to continue their operations.

The EBRD also expressed its readiness to take part in the Ukrainian reconstruction program as soon as the situation permits.

As Ukrainian News Agency earlier reported, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development expects a fall the Board of Governors of the EBRD decided to immediately suspend Russia and Belarus' access to the bank's finances and expertise. Ukraine's GDP by 20% instead of growth by 3.5% in 2022.