EBRD trade support hits new monthly record amid COVIA-19 crisis
The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development provided a record level of support for trade activity in March as demand rose in response to the impact of the coronavirus pandemic.
There were 144 transactions worth €385.6 million in March - the highest turnover ever recorded in a single month - under its Trade Facilitation Programme. So far this year, the EBRD has issued 424 TFP transactions for €682 million, compared with 445 transactions worth €559 million in the same 2019 period.
The lender responded to the economic crisis caused by Covid-19 with the launch of an initial €1 billion Solidarity Package in support of its partners.
The EBRD extended tenors of its guarantees in support of imports of equipment from China into Albania and export of services from Greece into Spain, where shipments had been delayed or projects have been put on hold.
It also supported imports of ambulances from Portugal into Morocco and of medicines from Switzerland into Jordan and from Turkey into Georgia.
And the bank provided an extension to a trade-related cash advance where a bank in Armenia granted a repayment holiday to their small business client, a manufacturer of confectionery.
