IMF to provide Moldova with financial assistance on COVID-19 situation

Chisinau, 27 March /MOLDPRES/- A mission of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) will hold on 30 March -  1 April from the IMF in Washington talks with the Moldovan authorities on the economic policies to mitigate the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. They will be supported by the Rapid Credit Facility (RCF) and the Rapid Financing Instrument (RFI).

Funding through the RCF / RFI must be approved by the IMF Executive Board and does not require certain prerequisites or evaluation missions. "In the case of the Republic of Moldova we are talking about RCF and RFI financing, up to 86.25 million SDR (the equivalent of about 117 million US dollars or 50% of the Republic of Moldova's share in the IMF), fully disbursed and as soon as possible,” a press release of IMF Moldova reads.

The IMF has two financing instruments - the Rapid Credit Facility (RCF), established in 2009, and the Rapid Financing Instrument (RFI), established in 2011. Through them, financial assistance is provided to the member states without the need they have a full schedule with the Fund. "These loans can be disbursed very quickly to support member states in implementing emergency remediation policies, such as those caused by the coronavirus pandemic," IMF sources said.

The interest rate for RCF loans, which is granted to low-income states, is equal to zero percent, the grace period for such loans is 5.5 years, and the maturity term is 10 years. The financial assistance through RFI is granted under the same conditions as in the case of stand-by agreements (for the moment, the interest rate is about 1.5 percent), and the maturity is between 3¼ and 5 years.