The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) is marking its 20th anniversary, RIA Novosti reports.
The bank was founded in 1991, during a switch to a democratic and market economy after the fall of communism and the socialist economy in a set of states. The bank’s headquarters are located in London. Its main goal is support of a market economy for states switching to the new system.
61 countries and two international institutions are shareholders of the bank.
The EBRD is currently realizing projects in the economic and business sectors of 29 Central and Eastern European states, the CIS and Central Asia. Russia is the main receiver of the bank’s loans, amounting to 40% of its operations.
The only country that abandoned the EBRD’s support is the Czech Republic. It left the bank in 2007. The first non-socialist country to join the bank was Turkey in 2008.
The bank specializes in providing loans for individuals and businesses using the local currencies. Its main spheres of support are infrastructure, transport, housing and utilities, banking and energy projects.
The EBRD remains the main institutional investor in the region. The bank invested some 60 billion euros towards modernization of the economies of its member-states and invited some 180 billion euros of investments.
The bank earned 1.4 billion euros in 2010. It took part in 386 investment projects involving a total of 10 billion euros of financing.
This year will be the first in the five-year plan of the bank. The share capital of the bank will be increased from 20 to 30 billion euros, supported by all 63 shareholders.
The EBRD's President, Thomas Mirow, said that the bank’s success had been achieved by the countries of the region themselves, realizing the need for changes, regardless of the complications.
