AMMAN — New research conducted by the
European Investment Bank (EIB), in cooperation with the Central Bank of Jordan, revealed
that although the Jordanian economy has been affected by the COVID-19 pandemic,
the banking sector has remained strong and resilient.
اضافة اعلان
The findings of the "Banking in Jordan:
Financing corporates and SMEs in the era of the COVID-19" research were
highlighted at a press conference held in Amman on Wednesday, in the presence
of Ambassador of the European Union Maria Hadjitheodosiou, European Investment
Bank Vice President Gelsomina Vigliotti, and
Jordan Commercial Bank CEO Caesar
Qulajen.
At the conference, the EIB announced that it
will provide 30 million euros to the Jordan Commercial Bank for on-lending to
local companies to help them create jobs and enhance economic growth and
resilience, namely targeting businesses that were most impacted by the
pandemic.
The EIB financing comes under the Economic
Resilience Initiative, which is part of the European Union's response to
challenges in the “Southern Neighborhood” of the Mediterranean, such as forced
displacement and migration, economic downturns, and political crisis. Under
this initiative, the EIB has made 750 million euros available to seven
Jordanian financial intermediaries.
The Jordan SME (small and medium enterprise) finance
2022 conference also provided an opportunity for banking and business leaders,
policymakers, and international partners to exchange best-practice insights on
SME financing and to give them the opportunity to learn from recent policy
responses to mitigate the economic impact of the
COVID-19 Pandemic.
Hadjitheodosiou said that the European Union is
committed to supporting private sector growth in Jordan and enhancing economic
resilience, adding that the conference provides a unique opportunity to discuss
current business financing priorities and enhance cooperation with Jordanian
financial partners.
She told
Jordan News that the European
Union is concerned about supporting and enhancing economic growth, and that
this step would contribute to revving up the economy.
EIB vice president Vigliotti told
Jordan
News that Jordan is full of promising investments, stressing the importance
of supporting and funding the private sector since it plays an important role
in economic growth and creating job opportunities. “Our objective is supporting
small and medium sized enterprises which are considered the backbone of the
economy," said Vigliotti.
The report showed that liquidity support, loan
rescheduling, and additional guarantees for small and medium-sized companies
enabled credit growth and the profitability of the banking sector.
The report also showed that the impact of the
pandemic on credit supply in Jordan has been relatively contained, with about
two-thirds of the banks surveyed reporting stabilization or even an increase in
the supply of credit.
The pandemic has been a game-changer for
banking services and triggered a strong push towards greater digitization. With
regard to internal operations, 90 percent of banks confirmed that the pandemic
would accelerate the digitization of internal operations.
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