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Add to Preferred SourcesNIB and the Republic of Lithuania have signed a EUR 400 million loan agreement to finance the measures taken to mitigate the effects of the coronavirus COVID-19 pandemic.
The 10-year loan will finance part of the Lithuanian Government’s Economic and Financial Action Plan to provide the necessary support to the national economy and society.
Under the EUR 2.5 billion Action Plan, the funds will be allocated to the following objectives and key measures:
- to ensure the necessary resources for the efficient operation of healthcare and public security by purchasing protective medical gear, testing kits and other medical equipment, ensuring additional social guarantees for medical staff and officers working in risk-areas amongst other measures (EUR 500 million);
- to protect jobs and compensate for the loss of personal income through employee allowances, social benefits, state guarantees for deferred mortgage payments and deferral of certain utility bill payments (EUR 500 million);
- to support liquidity in the affected business sectors through tax loans and exemptions, increased guarantee limits for the Agricultural Credit Guarantee Fund and the Investment and Business Guarantees Agency (INVEGA) and other measures (EUR 500 million);
- to provide general economic stimulus by accelerating national investment programmes, increasing the State guarantee limit to develop or supplement the existing financial instruments when the State assumes the primary risk and other measures (EUR 1 billion).
“The loan supports Lithuania in its efforts to mitigate the socio-economic disruption caused by the spread of the coronavirus. It will help to implement the fiscal measures needed to alleviate credit constraints in the financial markets and labour market inefficiencies as well as strengthen critically important healthcare infrastructure in our member country”, says Henrik Normann, NIB President & CEO.
As the international financial institution of the Nordic and Baltic countries, NIB finances projects that improve the productivity and benefit the environment of the region. The Bank also has a stabilising role during the economic crisis.
Original source: NIB
Published on 06 April 2020