NIB provides Covid-19 mitigation loan to Republic of Estonia

NIB and the Republic of Estonia have signed a 15-year loan agreement of EUR 750 million to help finance the measures taken to curb the immediate impact of the coronavirus Covid-19 pandemic on the economy and society.

The Covid-19 mitigation loan will cover a part of Estonia’s increased expenditures, primarily:

• Additional direct expenditure for the healthcare system and civil protection services;
• Compensation to employees for forced unpaid leave from work and/or loss of salary due to self-isolation;
• Support measures for the most affected business sectors, such as small and medium-sized enterprises, tourism and transportation;
• Compensation for the loss of business and/or additional costs stemming from government’s restrictions imposed to limit the Covid-19 spread; such as closures of sports venues, theatres, museums, etc., and imposing quarantine to certain geographic areas and/or closing of national borders.

“The current crisis causes significant disruptions in the labour markets and restraints to healthcare services, and will have detrimental effects on the availability of financial resources in the private sector, in particular for small and medium-sized enterprises. The purpose of this loan is to provide countercyclical financing, and to alleviate the immediate socio-economic consequences caused by the Covid-19 pandemic in one of our member countries,” says Henrik Normann, President & CEO of NIB.

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 economic crisis.

NIB is an international financial institution owned by eight member countries: Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Iceland, Latvia, Lithuania, Norway and Sweden. The Bank finances private and public projects in and outside the member countries. NIB has the highest possible credit rating, AAA/Aaa, with the leading rating agencies Standard & Poor’s and Moody’s.

For further information, please contact
Ms Kersti Talving, Senior Manager, Origination, at +358 10 618 0245, Kersti.talving@nib.int

Mr Gunnar Okk, Vice-President, Head of Business Services,
at +358 10 618 0213, gunnar.okk@nib.int

Mr Arild Moen, Senior Communications Officer, at +358 10 618 0496, arild.moen@nib.int