GUYANA is among four countries to benefit from financial support from the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), to help overcome the effects of the global economic crisis.

The others are Bolivia, Honduras and Nicaragua.

These countries will collectively have access to up to US$485M in lending resource per year from the Bank during 2009 and 2010, to help mitigate the impact of the current financial crisis.

A release from the Bank stated that by increasing the concessionary funds available for these countries through a supplementary allocation, total IDB lending can expand 39 percent, from US$349M per year in 2007 and 2008, to US$485M per year in 2009 and 2010.

The supplementary debt will enable Guyana to borrow up to US$28.6M from US$20.6M.

The release stated that the measures were approved by the Board following its consideration of a careful analysis that indicated that the four countries have the capacity to take on the additional debt without degrading their risk of debt distress, and that the additional lending would not threaten the long-term sustainability of the Fund for Special Operations (FSO).

IDB’s President Luis Alberto Moreno, who is at present in Honduras to attend the General Assembly of the Organisation of American States (OAS), said the resources will give the governments of these countries additional flexibility to finance counter-cyclical policies and strengthen social safety nets for their most vulnerable citizens.

Moreno noted that the crisis is inflicting real hardship on working families in member countries.

The IDB lends to these countries with a blend of resources in which loans from its ordinary capital are made available together with resources from the Fund for Special Operations (FSO), in proportions designed to balance each borrower’s needs with its long-term capacity to absorb additional debt productively.

A supplementary allocation of US$136M was approved by the Board earlier on May 20, a temporary measure for the next two years, while longer-term solutions are sought for providing concessional funds to the Bank’s poorest member countries and expands the total lending amount for 2009 and 2010 that the Board had approved for the four countries earlier this year. (GINA)