By KYIV. Dec 19 (Interfax-Ukraine) – The governors of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) approved a resolution to increase the bank’s paid-in capital by EUR 4 billion, or 13%, to EUR 34 billion to finance the bank’s projects in Ukraine and other countries where it operates, the EBRD said in a statement.
“The additional capital from shareholders will be used to provide significant and sustained investment for Ukraine’s real economy… and will help support the EBRD’s priorities in all economies where it operates,” the statement notes.
The additional capital will strengthen the EBRD, enabling it to continue providing a sustained level of annual investment in Ukraine of around EUR 1.5 billion during wartime, supported entirely by its own balance sheet, and to have the means to increase its support up to EUR 3 billion annually once reconstruction begins. The EBRD also recalled that since February 2022 it had allocated more than EUR 3 billion to Ukraine.
The resolution adopted by the Governors completes the formal process of increasing the EBRD’s authorized capital, which began at the annual meeting in May this year in Samarkand. The capital increase will take effect on December 31, 2024.
The bank recalled that this is the third increase in its capital in history, after similar decisions made in 1996 and 2010. “It follows the governors’ recognition in May 2023 that supporting Ukraine should be the Bank’s highest priority – now and in the future – while also ensuring that it can continue to pursue its strategic priorities across all its regions,” the press release notes.
Shareholders will have the right to subscribe for additional shares in accordance with the agreement establishing the EBRD. The first applications are expected to be received in early 2024, with payments starting in early 2025.
The bank now has 72 national shareholders in addition to the European Union and the European Investment Bank after Iraq became a shareholder in November 2023.
The EBRD was founded in 1991 and since then has invested more than EUR 190 billion in more than 6,800 projects, including in Ukraine – EUR 19.03 billion in 559 projects. The current size of the bank’s portfolio in Ukraine is EUR 4.84 billion.
