Press Release No. 09/50

Press Release: Statement by IMF Managing Director Dominique Strauss-Kahn on the Joint Action Plan of the EBRD, EIB and World Bank Group for Eastern Europe

February 27, 2009

Mr. Dominique Strauss-Kahn, Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), issued the following statement today:

"The IMF welcomes the Joint Action Plan of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), the European Investment Bank (EIB), and the World Bank Group¹ to support banking systems and real sector lending in Eastern Europe. This initiative, launched earlier today, will help mitigate the effects of the financial crisis on credit flows in the region.

"The joint efforts under this initiative will assist individual financial institutions and sectors, while IMF lending will continue to support countries at the macroeconomic level. Both aspects are important building blocks in the broader multilateral and bilateral efforts to support the region.

"The International Financial Institutions will continue to cooperate closely in their activities in the region. As in the past, IMF and Multilateral Development Bank lending can be part of joint financing packages for crisis countries."

¹ The International Bank for Reconstruction and Development, the International Finance Corp. and the Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency.