EBRD provides loan for quake relief

ISTANBUL

The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) is providing a loan of $ 109 million to Türkiye’s largest private lender İşbank for on-lending to businesses and individuals affected by the 6 February earthquakes that hit the country’s south-eastern region.

The loan is part of the bank’s Türkiye Disaster Response Framework, launched in the aftermath of the earthquakes which more than US$ 100 billion in damage to the country’s economy, the EBRD said in a statement.

The proceeds of the loan will be used to remedy some of the damage to the region’s economy and seek to preserve the livelihoods and human capital of the affected cities, it added.

“The loan aims to address the most immediate funding needs of the local population in those cities, bringing financial relief to the region’s private sector.”

The EBRD previously announced a 1.5-billion-euro, two-year investment plan for the region, to lessen the economic impact of the disaster.

The 600 million euros Türkiye Disaster Response Framework aims to provide support for companies and individuals affected by the disaster, as well as new lending for companies participating in recovery and reconstruction efforts in the area, strengthening the private sector’s role in disaster response.

To date, including the loan to İşbank, close to $ 350 million has been allocated to the EBRD’s partner banks under this framework.