WASHINGTON, March 31, 2010 – The Programmatic Financial Rehabilitation Development Policy Loan (PFRL) project in Ukraine was named one of the 12 winners in the World Bank’s third annual ‘Improving the Lives of People in Europe and Central Asia’ 2010 competition.
“Cooperation of Ukraine with the World Bank under the Programmatic Financial Rehabilitation Development Policy Loan project has yielded positive results. In particular this is demonstrated by the retained trust of the individuals to the banks by decreased financial pressure on the Deposit Guarantee Fund. And it also helped to insure stability of the banking sector,”- proved the Executive Director of the Deposit Guarantee Fund Valeriy Ohiyenko.
The PFRL team worked with the Government officials, Central Bank and Deposit Guarantee Fund. The policy actions supported by PFRL 1 included a process to assess the health of each bank and, depending on the bank’s performance and size, a plan to either recapitalize it or close it. Legal amendments were also approved to make bank closure cheaper. Finally the deposit guarantee fund was equipped with the resources and procedures to be able to process fast large payout. More information about the PRFL project could be found on a web link.
“Although many countries in the Europe and Central Asia region enjoyed very strong growth and higher living standards throughout the past decade, the global financial and economic crisis has hit this region the hardest,” said Philippe Le Houérou, World Bank Vice President for Europe and Central Asia. “But the winners of the 2010 ‘Improving the Lives of People in Europe and Central Asia’ competition show how innovative projects that improve the daily lives of people in the region despite the harmful effects of the recent financial turmoil on country economies.”
Le Houérou also emphasized that “the winners demonstrate real results, including job growth, establishment of small businesses and improved enterprise access to financing, improved health care and health protection and rehabilitated water and irrigation systems that have increased crop yields, just to name a few. These innovative projects and programs also show that a continuous partnership with the World Bank can leverage the effects of economic downturn and demonstrate a real positive impact on the ground.”
The winners of this year’s competition are (listed in an alphabetical order by country):
Armenia Rural Enterprise and Small Scale Commercial Agriculture Development Project
Armenia Lifeline Road Improvement Project
Azerbaijan Rural Investment Project
Bulgaria Policy Notes
Georgia Joint Needs Assessment, Donors Conference, and Progress Report
Kyrgyz Republic, Moldova, and Tajikistan Food Crisis Response Projects
Latvia Safety Net and Social Reform Special Development Policy Loan
Macedonia Real Estate Cadastre and Registration
Russia Health Reform Implementation Project
Tajikistan Community Agriculture and Watershed Management Project
Turkey - Support to the Turkey Health Transformation Program
Ukraine Programmatic Financial Rehabilitation Development Policy Loan 1
The third annual celebration of results to recognize the winners will take place on June 3, 2010, in Washington, DC.
