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Bank President Suma Chakrabarti said there would
be no defined upper limit to its spending in Greece and that it
would depend instead upon the projects proposed.
"There's not going to be a cap," Chakrabarti said, adding the
bank's experts planned to start talks with Greek authorities on
possible projects by the end of the week.
The former Greek government put in a request late last year to
become an EBRD 'country of operation' and make it eligible for
the development bank's support, but the process was put on hold
during the uncertainty of the country's recent elections.
However, last week's four-month Greek aid extension by the euro
zone has put it back on track and EBRD shareholders - 64
countries plus the European Union and European Investment Bank -
unanimously back the proposal, Chakrabarti said.
Greece would not have to be formally engaged in an IMF or other
program, he added, saying that lending to small and medium-sized
businesses could also begin very quickly.
Greece becomes the second of the euro zone's troubled members to
get investment from the EBRD after Cyprus was granted approval
last year.
The EBRD was originally created in 1991 originally to invest in
the former Soviet bloc countries of eastern Europe and help them
make the transition to market-based economies.
However, it has expanded its reach in recent years to also
include Turkey, Mongolia and the economies affected directly or
indirectly by the Arab Spring such as Morocco, Egypt, Tunisia
and Jordan.
(Reporting by Alastair Macdonald; Writing by Philip Blenkinsop
and Marc Jones in London; Editing by Tom Heneghan)
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