EBRD and National Bank to help COVID-19-affected companies

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The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development and the National Bank of Georgia unify to reduce the negative effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The EBRD and the National Bank of Georgia (NBG) are increasing the availability of Georgian lari (GEL) to private companies.

The joint move aims to support businesses suffering from the impact of the novel coronavirus pandemic. 

As reported by the EBRD, the two institutions have set up a US$-GEL foreign exchange (FX) swap facility, enabling the EBRD to secure reliable access to GEL liquidity and continue lending in local currency to firms that are experiencing temporary difficulties. The parties executed the first transaction on 24 April 2020.

#EBRDsupport #Covid19response

We joined forces w/ @NBGeorgia to support #coronavirus-hit firms in Georgia.

Local currency loans to be made available to private companies in need of funding.https://t.co/Xpv5XyRLsz pic.twitter.com/DqZM84ooGG

— The EBRD (@EBRD) April 28, 2020

‘’The foreign exchange swap line also supports the management of NBG FX reserves with additional US dollar liquidity, which the central bank can draw on when needed,’’ the European bank reports.

‘’The EBRD last week expanded its response and recovery programme addressing the coronavirus crisis and it expects the entirety of its investments of up to €21 billion in the two years ahead to be dedicated to this effort. The package includes a €4 billion Resilience Framework for existing clients, offering liquidity support, short-term working capital and trade finance. The EBRD emphasised that it was also ready to deploy its capacity to provide local currency lending,’’ the EBRD says.