The investments provided by the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) pushed up to a new record of 13.1 billion euros ($14.32 billion) in 2023 across 464 signed projects, with half of the total financing related to the green economy, the lender announced on Thursday.
Leading the investments provided by the bank last year was Ukraine, followed by a significant amount of resources set to be provided to Türkiye, the largest country EBRD operates in, set to be delivered over two years.
Last year's tally stood 58 million euros above 2022 levels, the bank said, with 80% of those investments directed to the private sector.
Investments in 2023 include a record of more than 2 billion euros in Ukraine to keep supporting the country after Russia's invasion almost two years ago, and up to 1.5 billion euros in Türkiye over the 2023-2024 period after a series of earthquakes in the country's southeastern region.
As part of the investment plan for the region to lessen the economic impact of the disaster, a 600 million euro Disaster Response Framework was introduced, the first of its kind deployed in the EBRD regions.
"It is too early to provide detailed figures, but we will be back with very high positive financial results of around 2 billion euros," after a loss of 1.1 billion euros in 2022, EBRD President Odile Renaud-Basso said during a news briefing, according to Reuters report.
The bank's results are expected to be announced in the spring, the statement added.
"Never in its history has the bank invested as much as it did in 2023, while at the same time delivering its goals of developing the private sector and greening economies and maintaining its focus on delivering impact and supporting the transition to modern, inclusive markets," Renaud-Basso said.
"Last year demonstrated that crises can be sudden, such as natural disasters, or prolonged, like the war in Ukraine. Whatever the nature of such crises, we remain committed, agile and highly effective in our support for all our economies."
The EBRD focused last year on a 4 billion euro capital increase that will enable the bank to double its Ukraine investments once reconstruction begins.
The increase, the third in the bank's history, will bring its capital base to 34 billion euros once it takes effect on Dec. 31, 2024.
Renaud-Basso added that the bank was in talks with insurers and the Ukraine government over war insurance to cover cargo in the Black Sea.
"We are working with donors to mobilize that," she added, without elaborating on which insurance companies were involved in the talks.
Ukraine, a major global grain grower and exporter, said on Monday it exported 15 million metric tons of cargo through its Black Sea shipping corridor, including 10 million tons of agricultural goods.
The bank is also working on "developing a war insurance mechanism for inland transport in Ukraine because now the costs are very, very high," Renaud-Basso added.
She also said that the bank was "very active" in investments in Egypt and was closely monitoring any impact from the conflict in Gaza and attacks on ships in the Red Sea.
Investments in Egypt should be aligned with the reform agenda under an International Monetary Fund (IMF) program so the EBRD was working with the private sector on 2024 priorities, she added.
While Iraq became the newest member of the EBRD by joining the bank last year, the total number of shareholders in the bank increased to 74 and the bank approved applications by Benin and Ivory Coast to become members.