LatinNews Daily - 23 June 2020

* The Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) has approved a US$400m loan to help finance Panama’s efforts to address the economic effects of the coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic. According to an IDB press release, the loan seeks to mitigate the impact of the health crisis on vulnerable households, promoting policies to reduce the pandemic’s short-term effects on the economy, which is forecast to shrink by 2% this year. The budget-support loan will reportedly provide Panama’s government with “rapid disbursement funds to finance emergency current expenses and generate a mid-term fiscal policy strategic framework to recover fiscal sustainability and ensure macroeconomic stability”. The loan complements a financial programme approved in April by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) aimed at providing rapid financial assistance to help combat the health crisis. The IDB loan, which will be disbursed in a single tranche, has a seven-year amortisation period, a three-year grace period, and an interest rate based on the London Inter-Bank Offered Rate (Libor).

End of preview - This article contains approximately 158 words.

Subscribers: Log in now to read the full article

Not a Subscriber?

Choose from one of the following options

• Subscribe
• Sign up for a one-time, 14-day trial