Following on yesterday's "Big Money: BlackRock and JPMorganTo Set Up Ukraine Reconstruction Bank (BLK; JPM)".
From the Financial Times:
EIB chief calls on EU states to rebuild Ukraine now
Werner Hoyer wants capitals to cover potential losses on loans to Kyiv to attract private capital
The head of the European Investment Bank has urged EU governments not to wait until the ink is dry on a Ukraine peace agreement before beginning the work of rebuilding its infrastructure.
In an interview with the Financial Times ahead of a conference in London dedicated to Ukraine’s recovery from war, Werner Hoyer said reconstruction needs to start now despite the “very, very bloody risky” nature of the work involved.
“The strengthening of resilience — call it reconstruction or whatever — needs to take place now and not one day, hopefully, when the ink on a peace treaty is dry,” Hoyer said, acknowledging that the war was likely to continue “for a long time”.
The EIB, which is wholly owned by EU member states, started lending to Ukraine in 2007 and has financed 54 projects worth over €8bn, some of which are ongoing.The EIB’s role is to lend for infrastructure. It is far from the biggest lender to Ukraine. The World Bank has disbursed $23bn since February 2022, most of it in the form of budgetary support and much of it from the US. The IFC, the World Bank’s private lending arm, has committed a further $2bn....
....MUCH MORE
It's possible I am being too cynical as to the motives behind this call to action, that this is truly altruistic. Possible but not probable.
This looks like buying a place at the table for European companies to nail down a quarter-trillion euros worth of reconstruction contracts and any ancillary power/control/influence that might be available for the taking.
