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Authorities upbeat on EurAsEC loan tranche

The Belarusian finance ministry expects to iron out all differences with the Anti-crisis Fund of the Eurasian Economic Community (EurAsEC) and secure a third tranche of the Fund's $3-billion loan at talks in Astana next week, Minister Andrey Kharkavets told BelaPAN on Thursday.

Minsk expects that the talks would help resolve differences that have delayed the disbursement of the $440-million tranche to Belarus, he said. The Belarusian Council of Ministers and the National Bank of Belarus, in their joint letter, have already assured the Anti-crisis Fund that the country's monetary policy will conform to its recommendations as much as possible, the minister said. The letter is being studied by the Fund, he added.

Speaking in early May, Nadzeya Yermakova, head of the National Bank of Belarus, said that the Anti-crisis Fund wanted the Belarusian authorities to tighten lending to the economy.

In particular, she said, the Anti-crisis Fund demands that banks increase the amount of loans issued to businesses at a slower pace than it is required by Belarus' major economic development targets. "I think [the demand] is not quite well-founded. The parliament has approved a law [setting economic development targets], the president has signed it and now the Fund wants us to revise it. I think this is not quite correct," Ms. Yermakova said.

She noted that experts were working to settle the differences between Belarus and the Fund. "I believe the issue will be settled by the end of May," she said.

The first, $800-million tranche of the loan was made available to Belarus in June 2011. Another portion, $440 million, was provided in late December.

Belarus was scheduled to receive the third tranche before February 28, but the Fund believes that the Belarusian authorities have not fulfilled some of the loan's terms.